The vows of David recorded in Psalm 101 should be the vows of all upon whom rest the responsibilities of guarding the influences of the home. David declared: “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.... I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes” (Psalm 101:2, 3).
The enemy of souls will invent many things to lead the minds of our youth from firm faith in God to the idolatrous practices of the world. Let the cautions given to ancient Israel be carefully studied. Satan’s efforts to spoil the thoughts and confuse the judgment are unceasing, and we must be on our guard. We must be careful to maintain our allegiance to God as His peculiar people....
We should endeavor to keep out of our homes every influence that is not productive of good. In this matter some parents have much to learn. To those who feel free to read story magazines and novels, I say: You are sowing seed, the harvest of which you will not care to gather. There is no spiritual strength to be gained from such reading. Rather it destroys the love for the pure truth of the Word. Through the agency of novels and story magazines Satan is working to fill with unreal and trivial thoughts the minds that should be diligently studying the Word of God. Thus he is robbing thousands upon thousands of the time and energy and self-discipline demanded by the stern problems of life.
Let the youth be taught to give close study to the Word of God. Received into the soul, it will prove a mighty barricade against temptations. “Thy word,” the psalmist declares, “have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” “By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer” (Psalm 119:11; 17:4).
If the counsels of the Word of God are faithfully followed, the saving grace of Christ will be brought to our youth; for the children who are trained to love and obey God, and who yield themselves to the molding power of His Word, are the objects of God’s special care and blessing. HP 215
In Christ’s name our petitions ascend to the Father. He intercedes in our behalf, and the Father lays open all the treasures of His grace for our appropriation, for us to enjoy and impart to others. Pr 217
"But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children." Isaiah 49:25 (King James Version)
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
Christ was just as truly doing His Father’s business when toiling at the carpenter’s bench as when working miracles for the multitude...
While on earth Christ lived in the home of a peasant. He wore the best garments His parents could provide, but they were the humble garments of the peasants. He walked the rough paths of Nazareth and climbed the steeps of its hillsides and mountains. In His home He was a constant worker, and left on record a life filled with useful deeds. Had Christ passed His life among the grand and the rich, the world of toilers would have been deprived of the inspiration that the Lord intended they should have.
But Christ knew that His work must begin in consecrating the humble trade of the craftsmen who toil for their daily bread. He learned the trade of a carpenter that He might stamp honest labor as honorable and ennobling to all who work with an eye single to the glory of God. And angels were His attendants, for Christ was just as truly doing His Father’s business when toiling at the carpenter’s bench as when working miracles for the multitude. He held His commission and authority from the highest power, the Sovereign of heaven.
Christ descended to poverty that He might teach how closely in our daily life we may walk with God.... He could engage in toil, bear His part in sustaining the family in their necessity, become accustomed to weariness, and yet show no impatience. His spirit was never so full of worldly cares as to leave no time nor thought for heavenly things. He often held communion with heaven in song. The men of Nazareth often heard His voice raised in prayer and thanksgiving to God.... A fragrant influence was diffused to those around Him, and they were blessed. His praises seemed to drive away the evil angels and fill the place with sweet fragrance....
His life was in conformity to the life and character of God. His childhood and manhood ennobled and sanctified every phase of practical life.... He was a perfect pattern in every place.... He passed through the experience of infancy, childhood, and manhood without a stain upon His character. HP 214
Talk it; pray it. Do not talk unbelief. We cannot afford to let Satan see that he has power to darken our countenances and sadden our lives. Pr 216
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Luke 2:52 (King James Version)
But Christ knew that His work must begin in consecrating the humble trade of the craftsmen who toil for their daily bread. He learned the trade of a carpenter that He might stamp honest labor as honorable and ennobling to all who work with an eye single to the glory of God. And angels were His attendants, for Christ was just as truly doing His Father’s business when toiling at the carpenter’s bench as when working miracles for the multitude. He held His commission and authority from the highest power, the Sovereign of heaven.
Christ descended to poverty that He might teach how closely in our daily life we may walk with God.... He could engage in toil, bear His part in sustaining the family in their necessity, become accustomed to weariness, and yet show no impatience. His spirit was never so full of worldly cares as to leave no time nor thought for heavenly things. He often held communion with heaven in song. The men of Nazareth often heard His voice raised in prayer and thanksgiving to God.... A fragrant influence was diffused to those around Him, and they were blessed. His praises seemed to drive away the evil angels and fill the place with sweet fragrance....
His life was in conformity to the life and character of God. His childhood and manhood ennobled and sanctified every phase of practical life.... He was a perfect pattern in every place.... He passed through the experience of infancy, childhood, and manhood without a stain upon His character. HP 214
Talk it; pray it. Do not talk unbelief. We cannot afford to let Satan see that he has power to darken our countenances and sadden our lives. Pr 216
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Luke 2:52 (King James Version)
Sunday, April 28, 2013
One brief day is given you, and that one day work for yourself and your family as though it were your last...
Abraham, the friend of God, set us a worthy example. His was a life of prayer and humble obedience, and he was as a light in the world. Wherever he pitched his tent, close beside it was set up his altar, calling for the morning and evening sacrifice of each member of his family.... From Christian homes a similar light should shine forth. Love should be revealed in action. It should flow out in all home intercourse, showing itself in thoughtful kindness, in gentle, unselfish courtesy. There are homes where these principles are carried out—homes where God is worshiped and truest love reigns. From these homes morning and evening prayer comes up before God as sweet incense, and His mercies and blessings descend upon the suppliants like the morning dew.
We must have more religion. We need the strength and grace that are born of earnest prayer. This means of grace should be diligently used in order to gain spiritual muscle. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him. It makes us realize more and more our great needs, and hence our obligation to God and our dependence upon Him. It leads us to feel our own nothingness and the weakness of our judgment. God has made earnest prayer the condition of the bestowal of His richest blessings....
This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself and your family to God for that day. Make no calculation for months or years, for they are not yours. One brief day is given you, and that one day work for yourself and your family as though it were your last. Surrender all your plans to God, to be carried out or given up, as His providence shall indicate. In this manner you may day by day be giving your life with its plans and purposes into the hands of God, accepting His plans instead of your own, no matter how much they may interfere with your arrangements nor how many pleasant projects may have to be abandoned. Thus the life will be molded more and more after the divine Model; and “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” HP 213
Let sincerity and faith characterize your prayers. The Lord is willing to do for us “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20 Pr 216
"And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord." Genesis 12:8 (King James Version)
We must have more religion. We need the strength and grace that are born of earnest prayer. This means of grace should be diligently used in order to gain spiritual muscle. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him. It makes us realize more and more our great needs, and hence our obligation to God and our dependence upon Him. It leads us to feel our own nothingness and the weakness of our judgment. God has made earnest prayer the condition of the bestowal of His richest blessings....
This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself and your family to God for that day. Make no calculation for months or years, for they are not yours. One brief day is given you, and that one day work for yourself and your family as though it were your last. Surrender all your plans to God, to be carried out or given up, as His providence shall indicate. In this manner you may day by day be giving your life with its plans and purposes into the hands of God, accepting His plans instead of your own, no matter how much they may interfere with your arrangements nor how many pleasant projects may have to be abandoned. Thus the life will be molded more and more after the divine Model; and “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” HP 213
Let sincerity and faith characterize your prayers. The Lord is willing to do for us “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20 Pr 216
"And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord." Genesis 12:8 (King James Version)
Thursday, April 25, 2013
The children and youth must have a true copy in right-doing if they succeed in overcoming sin and perfecting a Christian character. This copy they should find in the lives of their parents...
To all parents who profess to believe in the soon return of Christ there is given a solemn work of preparation, that they and their children may be ready to meet the Lord at His coming. God desires to see parents take their position wholeheartedly for Him, that there may be no perverting of the work He has given them to do and that our children and youth may understand clearly the will of God concerning them. They are to learn to resist evil and choose righteousness, to turn from sin and become the faithful servants of God, prepared to give Him their life’s highest service.
There are few parents who realize how important it is to give to their children the influence of a godly example. Yet this is far more potent than precept. No other means is so effective in training them in right lines. The children and youth must have a true copy in right-doing if they succeed in overcoming sin and perfecting a Christian character. This copy they should find in the lives of their parents. If they enter the city of God, ... someone must show them the way. By living before their children godly, consistent lives, parents may make the work before them clear and plain.
It is God’s desire that parents should be to their children the embodiment of the principles laid down in His Word.... To keep the feet of their children in the narrow path will call for faithful effort and constant prayer, but it is possible to train the children and youth to love and serve God.... It is possible to inculcate the principles of righteousness, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little, until the desires and inclinations of the heart are in harmony with the mind and will of God.
When fathers and mothers realize the responsibility resting upon them, and respond to the appeals of God’s Spirit in behalf of this neglected work, there will be seen in the homes of the people transformations that will cause the angels to rejoice. HP 212
Not one sincere supplication is lost. The channel is open; the stream is flowing. It carries with it healing properties, pouring forth a restoring current of life and health and salvation. Pr 216
"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;" Deuteronomy 4:9 (King James Version)
There are few parents who realize how important it is to give to their children the influence of a godly example. Yet this is far more potent than precept. No other means is so effective in training them in right lines. The children and youth must have a true copy in right-doing if they succeed in overcoming sin and perfecting a Christian character. This copy they should find in the lives of their parents. If they enter the city of God, ... someone must show them the way. By living before their children godly, consistent lives, parents may make the work before them clear and plain.
It is God’s desire that parents should be to their children the embodiment of the principles laid down in His Word.... To keep the feet of their children in the narrow path will call for faithful effort and constant prayer, but it is possible to train the children and youth to love and serve God.... It is possible to inculcate the principles of righteousness, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little, until the desires and inclinations of the heart are in harmony with the mind and will of God.
When fathers and mothers realize the responsibility resting upon them, and respond to the appeals of God’s Spirit in behalf of this neglected work, there will be seen in the homes of the people transformations that will cause the angels to rejoice. HP 212
Not one sincere supplication is lost. The channel is open; the stream is flowing. It carries with it healing properties, pouring forth a restoring current of life and health and salvation. Pr 216
"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;" Deuteronomy 4:9 (King James Version)
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Day by day cast the love of the world out of your hearts. Understand by experience what it means to have fellowship with Christ. Prepare for the judgment...
Let not parents forget the great mission field that lies before them in the home. In the children committed to her, every mother has a sacred charge from God. “Take this son, this daughter,” God says, “and train it for Me. Give it a character polished after the similitude of a palace, that it may shine in the courts of the Lord forever.”
Let the determination of each member of the family be, I will be a Christian, for in the school here below I must form a character that will give me entrance into the higher grade, even the school above. I must do unto others as I desire them to do to me.
Make the home life as nearly as possible like heaven. Let the members of the family forget not, as they gather round the family altar, to pray for the men in positions of responsibility in God’s work. The physicians in our sanitariums, the ministers of the gospel, those in charge of our publishing houses and schools, need your prayers. They are tempted and tried. As you plead with God to bless them, your own hearts will be subdued and softened by His grace. We are living amid the perils of the last days, and we are to cleanse ourselves from all defilement and put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness.
My brother, my sister, I urge you to prepare for the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. Day by day cast the love of the world out of your hearts. Understand by experience what it means to have fellowship with Christ. Prepare for the judgment, that when Christ shall come, to be admired in all them that believe, you may be among those who will meet Him in peace. In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the Father and the Son. The angels, touching their golden harps, will welcome the King and His trophies of victory—those who have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. A song of triumph will peal forth, filling all heaven. Christ has conquered. He enters the heavenly courts, accompanied by His redeemed ones, the witnesses that His mission of suffering and sacrifice has not been in vain. HP 211
Sing praises to God because He has answered your prayers. Take Him at His word. “He is faithful that promised.” Hebrews 10:23 Pr 216
"That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:" Psalm 144:12 (King James Version)
Let the determination of each member of the family be, I will be a Christian, for in the school here below I must form a character that will give me entrance into the higher grade, even the school above. I must do unto others as I desire them to do to me.
Make the home life as nearly as possible like heaven. Let the members of the family forget not, as they gather round the family altar, to pray for the men in positions of responsibility in God’s work. The physicians in our sanitariums, the ministers of the gospel, those in charge of our publishing houses and schools, need your prayers. They are tempted and tried. As you plead with God to bless them, your own hearts will be subdued and softened by His grace. We are living amid the perils of the last days, and we are to cleanse ourselves from all defilement and put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness.
My brother, my sister, I urge you to prepare for the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. Day by day cast the love of the world out of your hearts. Understand by experience what it means to have fellowship with Christ. Prepare for the judgment, that when Christ shall come, to be admired in all them that believe, you may be among those who will meet Him in peace. In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the Father and the Son. The angels, touching their golden harps, will welcome the King and His trophies of victory—those who have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. A song of triumph will peal forth, filling all heaven. Christ has conquered. He enters the heavenly courts, accompanied by His redeemed ones, the witnesses that His mission of suffering and sacrifice has not been in vain. HP 211
Sing praises to God because He has answered your prayers. Take Him at His word. “He is faithful that promised.” Hebrews 10:23 Pr 216
"That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:" Psalm 144:12 (King James Version)
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Directed and trained by the godly instruction of the home, the influence of the morning and evening season of worship, the consistent example of parents who love and fear God, they have learned to submit to God as their teacher and leader, and they are prepared to render Him acceptable service...
Children and youth are to be taught that their capabilities were given them for the honor and glory of God. To this end they must learn the lesson of obedience, for only by lives of willing obedience can they render to God the service He requires....
Parents who truly love Christ will bear witness to this in a love for their children that will not indulge, but will work wisely for their highest good. These children have been bought with a price. Christ sacrificed His life that He might redeem them from wrongdoing. Parents who appreciate the sacrifice Christ and the Father have made in behalf of the race will cooperate with them, lending every sanctified energy and ability to the work of saving their children. Instead of treating them as playthings, they will regard them as the purchase of Christ, and will teach them that they are to become the children of God. Instead of allowing them to indulge evil temper and selfish desires, they will teach them lessons of self-restraint.
As parents and children cooperate in seeking to reach God’s ideal for them, strength and blessing will come into their lives; and joy and satisfaction will fill the hearts of parents when they see, as the fruit of their labors, their children growing up in the love of the truth and endeavoring to reach the fullness of God’s purpose for them.
He desires to see gathered out from the homes of our people a large company of youth who, because of the godly influences of their homes, have surrendered their hearts to Him and go forth to give Him the highest service of their lives. Directed and trained by the godly instruction of the home, the influence of the morning and evening season of worship, the consistent example of parents who love and fear God, they have learned to submit to God as their teacher and leader, and they are prepared to render Him acceptable service.... Such youth are prepared to represent to the world the grace and power of Christ....
Would you help other families to use their God-given talents to His glory? Then reveal in your own lives conformity to the image of Christ. HP 210
“According to your faith be it unto you.” “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 9:29; Matthew 21:22. Pray, believe, rejoice. Pr 216
"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isaiah 54:13 (King James Version)
Parents who truly love Christ will bear witness to this in a love for their children that will not indulge, but will work wisely for their highest good. These children have been bought with a price. Christ sacrificed His life that He might redeem them from wrongdoing. Parents who appreciate the sacrifice Christ and the Father have made in behalf of the race will cooperate with them, lending every sanctified energy and ability to the work of saving their children. Instead of treating them as playthings, they will regard them as the purchase of Christ, and will teach them that they are to become the children of God. Instead of allowing them to indulge evil temper and selfish desires, they will teach them lessons of self-restraint.
As parents and children cooperate in seeking to reach God’s ideal for them, strength and blessing will come into their lives; and joy and satisfaction will fill the hearts of parents when they see, as the fruit of their labors, their children growing up in the love of the truth and endeavoring to reach the fullness of God’s purpose for them.
He desires to see gathered out from the homes of our people a large company of youth who, because of the godly influences of their homes, have surrendered their hearts to Him and go forth to give Him the highest service of their lives. Directed and trained by the godly instruction of the home, the influence of the morning and evening season of worship, the consistent example of parents who love and fear God, they have learned to submit to God as their teacher and leader, and they are prepared to render Him acceptable service.... Such youth are prepared to represent to the world the grace and power of Christ....
Would you help other families to use their God-given talents to His glory? Then reveal in your own lives conformity to the image of Christ. HP 210
“According to your faith be it unto you.” “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 9:29; Matthew 21:22. Pray, believe, rejoice. Pr 216
"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isaiah 54:13 (King James Version)
Friday, April 19, 2013
Keep Christ before your children by singing songs to His glory, by seeking Him in prayer, and by reading from His Word, so that He will seem to them an ever-present Guest. Then they will love Him, and will be brought so closely into unison with Him that they will breathe out His Spirit. They will feel a new relationship to one another in Christ...
The home is to be a school in which children are to be trained for the higher school. The father and mother should make the decision, “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.... I will walk within my house with a perfect heart” (Psalm 101:2).... Parents are the first teachers of their children, and by the lessons that they give, they, as well as their children, are being educated. As parents consecrate themselves, body, soul, and spirit, to the doing of their God-given work, the Lord will teach them precious lessons, giving them wise words to speak and helping them to show patience and forbearance under provocation....
We need homes that are surrounded by a sanctified atmosphere. Unconverted families are Satan’s strongest allies. The members of them work counter to God. Some parents are harsh, denunciatory, overbearing, while others are careless and overindulgent, letting their children follow the course of disobedience until they do very wicked things.... Such parents need to feel the converting power of God. By giving way to anger and by selfish indifference they unfit their children for this world and the next....
I am writing this to the parents among us because I greatly desire them to learn, and to teach to their children, the beautiful lessons that we must learn on earth before we can enter heaven. In everything you do ask yourselves, “How will this help my children to prepare for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for those who love Him?” When the work in the home school is done as it should be, families will bring into the church such a noble unselfishness that heavenly angels will love to linger there.... Hearts will be refined and purified, made fit for the indwelling of the Lord Jesus.
Keep Christ before your children by singing songs to His glory, by seeking Him in prayer, and by reading from His Word, so that He will seem to them an ever-present Guest. Then they will love Him, and will be brought so closely into unison with Him that they will breathe out His Spirit. They will feel a new relationship to one another in Christ. HP 209
Pray in faith. And be sure to bring your lives into harmony with your petitions, that you may receive the blessings for which you pray. Let not your faith weaken, for the blessings received are proportionate to the faith exercised. Pr 216
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 (King James Version)
We need homes that are surrounded by a sanctified atmosphere. Unconverted families are Satan’s strongest allies. The members of them work counter to God. Some parents are harsh, denunciatory, overbearing, while others are careless and overindulgent, letting their children follow the course of disobedience until they do very wicked things.... Such parents need to feel the converting power of God. By giving way to anger and by selfish indifference they unfit their children for this world and the next....
I am writing this to the parents among us because I greatly desire them to learn, and to teach to their children, the beautiful lessons that we must learn on earth before we can enter heaven. In everything you do ask yourselves, “How will this help my children to prepare for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for those who love Him?” When the work in the home school is done as it should be, families will bring into the church such a noble unselfishness that heavenly angels will love to linger there.... Hearts will be refined and purified, made fit for the indwelling of the Lord Jesus.
Keep Christ before your children by singing songs to His glory, by seeking Him in prayer, and by reading from His Word, so that He will seem to them an ever-present Guest. Then they will love Him, and will be brought so closely into unison with Him that they will breathe out His Spirit. They will feel a new relationship to one another in Christ. HP 209
Pray in faith. And be sure to bring your lives into harmony with your petitions, that you may receive the blessings for which you pray. Let not your faith weaken, for the blessings received are proportionate to the faith exercised. Pr 216
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 (King James Version)
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Heavenly agencies will cooperate with you as you seek to reach the standard of perfection and as you seek to teach your children how to conform their lives to the principles of righteousness...
Parents should be united in their faith, that they may be united in their efforts to bring their children up in the belief of the truth. Upon the mother in a special sense rests the work of molding the minds of the young children.... Business matters often keep the father much from home and prevent him from taking an equal share in the training of the children, but whenever he can, he should unite with the mother in this work. Let parents work unitedly, instilling into their children’s hearts the principles of righteousness.
There has been too little definite work done in preparing our children for the tests that all must meet in their contact with the world and its influences. They have not been helped as they should to form characters strong enough to resist temptation and stand firm for the principles of right, in the terrible issues before all who remain faithful to the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Parents need to understand the temptations that the youth must daily meet, that they may teach them how to overcome them. There are influences in the school and in the world that parents need to guard against. God wants us to turn our eyes from the vanities and pleasures and ambitions of the world, and set them on the glorious and immortal reward of those who run with patience the race set before them in the gospel. He wants us to educate our children to avoid the influences that would draw them away from Christ. The Lord is soon coming, and we must prepare for this solemn event.... Let your daily life in the home reveal the living principles of the Word of God. Heavenly agencies will cooperate with you as you seek to reach the standard of perfection and as you seek to teach your children how to conform their lives to the principles of righteousness. Christ and heavenly agencies are waiting to quicken your spiritual sensibilities, to renew your activities, and to teach you of the deep things of God. HP 208
Our petitions must not take the form of a command, but of intercession for Him to do the things we desire of Him. Pr 216
"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (King James Version)
There has been too little definite work done in preparing our children for the tests that all must meet in their contact with the world and its influences. They have not been helped as they should to form characters strong enough to resist temptation and stand firm for the principles of right, in the terrible issues before all who remain faithful to the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Parents need to understand the temptations that the youth must daily meet, that they may teach them how to overcome them. There are influences in the school and in the world that parents need to guard against. God wants us to turn our eyes from the vanities and pleasures and ambitions of the world, and set them on the glorious and immortal reward of those who run with patience the race set before them in the gospel. He wants us to educate our children to avoid the influences that would draw them away from Christ. The Lord is soon coming, and we must prepare for this solemn event.... Let your daily life in the home reveal the living principles of the Word of God. Heavenly agencies will cooperate with you as you seek to reach the standard of perfection and as you seek to teach your children how to conform their lives to the principles of righteousness. Christ and heavenly agencies are waiting to quicken your spiritual sensibilities, to renew your activities, and to teach you of the deep things of God. HP 208
Our petitions must not take the form of a command, but of intercession for Him to do the things we desire of Him. Pr 216
"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (King James Version)
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Instead of shutting up their love and sympathy to themselves, they should seize every opportunity of contributing to the good of others, distributing the abundance of affection in a chaste and sanctified love for souls that in the sight of God are just as precious as themselves, being purchased by the infinite sacrifice of His only-begotten Son...
Husbands and wives should feel it their privilege and their duty to reserve for the privacy of each other’s society the interchange of love tokens between themselves. For while the manifestation of love for each other is right in its place, it may be made productive of harm to both the married and the unmarried. There are persons of an entirely different cast of mind and character, and of different education and training, who love each other just as devotedly and healthfully as do those who have educated themselves to manifest their affection freely; and there is danger that by contrast these persons who are more reserved will be misjudged, and placed at a disadvantage. While the wife should lean on her husband with respect and deference, she can, in a wholesome, healthful way, manifest her strong affection for and confidence in the man she has chosen as her life companion....
It is the high privilege and the solemn duty of Christians to make each other happy in their married life; but there is positive danger in making self all absorbing, pouring out all the wealth of affection upon each other, and being too well satisfied with such a life. All this savors of selfishness.
Instead of shutting up their love and sympathy to themselves, they should seize every opportunity of contributing to the good of others, distributing the abundance of affection in a chaste and sanctified love for souls that in the sight of God are just as precious as themselves, being purchased by the infinite sacrifice of His only-begotten Son. Kind words, looks of sympathy, expressions of appreciation, would be to many a struggling and lonely one as the cup of cold water to a thirsty soul. A word of sympathy, an act of kindness, would lift burdens that are resting heavily upon some shoulders. And words of counsel, admonitions, warnings from a heart sanctified by love, are just as essential as an effusion of loving sentiments and expressions of appreciation. Every word or deed of unselfish kindness to souls with whom we are brought in connection is an expression of the love that Jesus has manifested for the whole human family. HP 207
We may pray in secret, and He who sees in secret will hear, and will reward us openly. Pr 216
"Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband." 1 Corinthians 7:3 (King James Version)
It is the high privilege and the solemn duty of Christians to make each other happy in their married life; but there is positive danger in making self all absorbing, pouring out all the wealth of affection upon each other, and being too well satisfied with such a life. All this savors of selfishness.
Instead of shutting up their love and sympathy to themselves, they should seize every opportunity of contributing to the good of others, distributing the abundance of affection in a chaste and sanctified love for souls that in the sight of God are just as precious as themselves, being purchased by the infinite sacrifice of His only-begotten Son. Kind words, looks of sympathy, expressions of appreciation, would be to many a struggling and lonely one as the cup of cold water to a thirsty soul. A word of sympathy, an act of kindness, would lift burdens that are resting heavily upon some shoulders. And words of counsel, admonitions, warnings from a heart sanctified by love, are just as essential as an effusion of loving sentiments and expressions of appreciation. Every word or deed of unselfish kindness to souls with whom we are brought in connection is an expression of the love that Jesus has manifested for the whole human family. HP 207
We may pray in secret, and He who sees in secret will hear, and will reward us openly. Pr 216
"Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband." 1 Corinthians 7:3 (King James Version)
Monday, April 15, 2013
If the hearts were kept tender in our families, if there were a noble, generous deference to each other’s tastes and opinions, if the wife were seeking opportunities to express her love by actions in her courtesies to her husband, and the husband were manifesting the same consideration and kindly regard for the wife, the children would partake of the same spirit...
How much trouble and what a tide of woe and unhappiness would be saved if men, and women also, would continue to cultivate the regard, attention, and kind words of appreciation and little courtesies of life which kept love alive and which they felt were necessary in gaining the companions of their choice. If the husband and wife would only continue to cultivate these attentions which nourish love, they would be happy in each other’s society and would have a sanctifying influence upon their families. They would have in themselves a little world of happiness and would not desire to go outside this world for new attractions and new objects of love....
Many women pine for words of love and kindness and the common attentions and courtesies due them from their husbands who have selected them as their life companions.... It is these little attentions and courtesies which make up the sum of life’s happiness....
If the hearts were kept tender in our families, if there were a noble, generous deference to each other’s tastes and opinions, if the wife were seeking opportunities to express her love by actions in her courtesies to her husband, and the husband were manifesting the same consideration and kindly regard for the wife, the children would partake of the same spirit. The influence would pervade the household, and what a tide of misery would be saved in the families! ...
Every couple who unite their life interest should seek to make the life of each as happy as possible. That which we prize we seek to preserve and make more valuable if we can. In the marriage contract men and women have made a trade, an investment for life, and they should do their utmost to control their words of impatience and fretfulness, even more carefully than they did before their marriage, for now their destinies are united for life as husband and wife, and each is valued in exact proportion to the amount of painstaking effort put forth to retain and keep fresh the love so eagerly sought for and prized before marriage. HP 206
Prayer is not understood as it should be. Our prayers are not to inform God of something He does not know. The Lord is acquainted with the secrets of every soul. Our prayers need not be long and loud. God reads the hidden thoughts. Pr 216
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them." Colossians 3:18-19 (King James Version)
Many women pine for words of love and kindness and the common attentions and courtesies due them from their husbands who have selected them as their life companions.... It is these little attentions and courtesies which make up the sum of life’s happiness....
If the hearts were kept tender in our families, if there were a noble, generous deference to each other’s tastes and opinions, if the wife were seeking opportunities to express her love by actions in her courtesies to her husband, and the husband were manifesting the same consideration and kindly regard for the wife, the children would partake of the same spirit. The influence would pervade the household, and what a tide of misery would be saved in the families! ...
Every couple who unite their life interest should seek to make the life of each as happy as possible. That which we prize we seek to preserve and make more valuable if we can. In the marriage contract men and women have made a trade, an investment for life, and they should do their utmost to control their words of impatience and fretfulness, even more carefully than they did before their marriage, for now their destinies are united for life as husband and wife, and each is valued in exact proportion to the amount of painstaking effort put forth to retain and keep fresh the love so eagerly sought for and prized before marriage. HP 206
Prayer is not understood as it should be. Our prayers are not to inform God of something He does not know. The Lord is acquainted with the secrets of every soul. Our prayers need not be long and loud. God reads the hidden thoughts. Pr 216
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them." Colossians 3:18-19 (King James Version)
Sunday, April 14, 2013
In many cases where these difficulties are thought to exist, the cause is imaginary.... If the husband and wife would freely talk over the matter with each other in the spirit of Christ, the difficulty would be healed...
Too often the marriage relation is entered into without proper consideration. None should marry in uncertainty. But if they have not been properly considerate in this matter, and after marriage find themselves dissimilar in character, and liable to reap unhappiness in the place of joy, let them not breathe into another’s mind the fact that their marriage was unwise.... The evil is always increased when either the wife or the husband, finding some one who appears to be a congenial spirit, ventures to whisper to this trusted one the secrets of the married life. The very act of making known the secret confirms the existence of a condition of things that would not be at all necessary if the husband and wife loved God supremely....
In many cases where these difficulties are thought to exist, the cause is imaginary.... If the husband and wife would freely talk over the matter with each other in the spirit of Christ, the difficulty would be healed.... If they loved God supremely, their hearts would be so filled, so satisfied, with His love, that they would not be consumed with longing for affection to be manifested in acts toward themselves.
Many have mistaken the true duty of the wife to the husband and the husband to the wife. Self becomes all absorbing, and Satan ... has his net all ready to draw about the human soul, to get it so entangled by human imaginations that it seems impossible for human wisdom to disentangle the meshes of his finely woven snares.
But what human wisdom cannot do the wisdom of God can do through the surrender of the will, the mind, the soul, the strength, the entire being, to God. His providence can unite hearts in bonds that are of heavenly origin. But the result will not be a mere external interchange of affection in soft and flattering words. There will be a new experience; the loom of heaven weaves with warp and woof finer, yet more firm, than those of earth. The material is not a mere tissue fabric, but a texture that will bear the wear and test of trial; heart is bound firmly to heart in the golden chain of a love that is genuine. HP 205
We should accustom ourselves to often lift the thoughts to God in prayer. If the mind wanders, we must bring it back; by persevering effort, habit will finally make it easy. Pr 216
"But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;" Mark 10:6-7 (King James Version)
In many cases where these difficulties are thought to exist, the cause is imaginary.... If the husband and wife would freely talk over the matter with each other in the spirit of Christ, the difficulty would be healed.... If they loved God supremely, their hearts would be so filled, so satisfied, with His love, that they would not be consumed with longing for affection to be manifested in acts toward themselves.
Many have mistaken the true duty of the wife to the husband and the husband to the wife. Self becomes all absorbing, and Satan ... has his net all ready to draw about the human soul, to get it so entangled by human imaginations that it seems impossible for human wisdom to disentangle the meshes of his finely woven snares.
But what human wisdom cannot do the wisdom of God can do through the surrender of the will, the mind, the soul, the strength, the entire being, to God. His providence can unite hearts in bonds that are of heavenly origin. But the result will not be a mere external interchange of affection in soft and flattering words. There will be a new experience; the loom of heaven weaves with warp and woof finer, yet more firm, than those of earth. The material is not a mere tissue fabric, but a texture that will bear the wear and test of trial; heart is bound firmly to heart in the golden chain of a love that is genuine. HP 205
We should accustom ourselves to often lift the thoughts to God in prayer. If the mind wanders, we must bring it back; by persevering effort, habit will finally make it easy. Pr 216
"But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;" Mark 10:6-7 (King James Version)
Saturday, April 13, 2013
My son, guard yourself and in no case manifest the least disposition savoring of a dictatorial, overbearing spirit...Yield to each other. Edson, yield your judgment sometimes...
You, my children, [from a letter by Ellen White to her son Edson and wife, soon after their marriage] have given your hearts to one another; unitedly give them wholly, unreservedly to God. In your married life seek to elevate one another. Do not come down to common, cheap talk and actions. Show the high and elevating principles of your holy faith in your everyday conversations and in the most private walks of life. Be ever careful and tender of the feelings of one another. Do not, either of you, for even the first time, allow a playful, bantering, joking censuring of one another. These things are dangerous. They wound. The wound may be concealed, nevertheless the wound exists and peace is being sacrificed and happiness endangered....
My son, guard yourself and in no case manifest the least disposition savoring of a dictatorial, overbearing spirit. It will pay to watch your words before speaking. This is easier than to take them back or efface their impression afterward.... Ever speak kindly; do not throw into the tones of your voice that which will be taken by others as irritability. Modulate even the tones of your voice. Let only love, gentleness, and mildness be expressed in your countenance and in your voice. Make it a business to shed rays of sunlight, but never leave a cloud. Emma will be all to you you can desire if you are watchful and give her no occasion to feel distressed and troubled and to doubt the genuineness of your love. You yourselves can make your happiness or lose it. You can by seeking to conform your life to the Word of God be true, noble, elevated, and smooth the pathway of life for each other....
Yield to each other. Edson, yield your judgment sometimes. Do not be persistent, even if your course appears just right to yourself. You must be yielding, forbearing, kind, tenderhearted, pitiful, courteous, ever keeping fresh the little courtesies of life, the tender acts, the tender, cheerful, encouraging words. And may the best of heaven’s blessings rest upon you both, my dear children, is the prayer of your mother. HP 204
Daily prayer is as essential to growth in grace, and even to spiritual life itself, as is temporal food to physical well-being. Pr 216
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Genesis 2:24 (King James Version)
My son, guard yourself and in no case manifest the least disposition savoring of a dictatorial, overbearing spirit. It will pay to watch your words before speaking. This is easier than to take them back or efface their impression afterward.... Ever speak kindly; do not throw into the tones of your voice that which will be taken by others as irritability. Modulate even the tones of your voice. Let only love, gentleness, and mildness be expressed in your countenance and in your voice. Make it a business to shed rays of sunlight, but never leave a cloud. Emma will be all to you you can desire if you are watchful and give her no occasion to feel distressed and troubled and to doubt the genuineness of your love. You yourselves can make your happiness or lose it. You can by seeking to conform your life to the Word of God be true, noble, elevated, and smooth the pathway of life for each other....
Yield to each other. Edson, yield your judgment sometimes. Do not be persistent, even if your course appears just right to yourself. You must be yielding, forbearing, kind, tenderhearted, pitiful, courteous, ever keeping fresh the little courtesies of life, the tender acts, the tender, cheerful, encouraging words. And may the best of heaven’s blessings rest upon you both, my dear children, is the prayer of your mother. HP 204
Daily prayer is as essential to growth in grace, and even to spiritual life itself, as is temporal food to physical well-being. Pr 216
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Genesis 2:24 (King James Version)
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Life is a precious gift of God and is not to be wasted in selfish regrets or more open indifference and dislike. Let the husband and wife talk things all over together...
I have often read these words: “Marriage is a lottery.” Some act as if they believed the statement, and their married life testifies that it is such to them. But true marriage is not a lottery. Marriage was instituted in Eden. After the creation of Adam, the Lord said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet”—suitable—“for him.” When the Lord presented Eve to Adam, angels of God were witnesses to the ceremony. But there are few couples who are completely united when the marriage ceremony is performed. The form of words spoken over the two who take the marriage vow does not make them a unit. In their future life is to be the blending of the two in wedlock. It may be made a really happy union, if each will give to the other true heart affection.
But time strips marriage of the romance with which imagination had clothed it, and then the thought finds entrance into the mind through Satan’s suggestions, “We do not love each other as we supposed.” Expel it from the mind. Do not linger over it. Let each, forgetful of self, refuse to entertain the ideas that Satan would be glad to have you cherish. He will work to make you suspicious, jealous of every little thing that shall furnish the least occasion, in order to alienate your affections from each other.... When the romance is gone, let each think, not after a sentimental order, how he or she can make the married life what God would be pleased to have it.
Life is a precious gift of God and is not to be wasted in selfish regrets or more open indifference and dislike. Let the husband and wife talk things all over together. Renew the early attentions to each other, acknowledge your faults to each other, but in this work be very careful that the husband does not take it upon himself to confess his wife’s faults or the wife her husband’s. Be determined that you will be all that it is possible for you to be to each other, and the bonds of wedlock will be the most desirable of ties.
Your home may be a symbol of heaven. HP 203
By your own example teach your children to pray with clear, distinct voice. Teach them to lift their heads from the chair and never to cover their faces with their hands. Thus they can offer their simple prayers, repeating the Lord’s prayer in concert. Pr 215
"And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” Genesis 2:18 (King James Version)
But time strips marriage of the romance with which imagination had clothed it, and then the thought finds entrance into the mind through Satan’s suggestions, “We do not love each other as we supposed.” Expel it from the mind. Do not linger over it. Let each, forgetful of self, refuse to entertain the ideas that Satan would be glad to have you cherish. He will work to make you suspicious, jealous of every little thing that shall furnish the least occasion, in order to alienate your affections from each other.... When the romance is gone, let each think, not after a sentimental order, how he or she can make the married life what God would be pleased to have it.
Life is a precious gift of God and is not to be wasted in selfish regrets or more open indifference and dislike. Let the husband and wife talk things all over together. Renew the early attentions to each other, acknowledge your faults to each other, but in this work be very careful that the husband does not take it upon himself to confess his wife’s faults or the wife her husband’s. Be determined that you will be all that it is possible for you to be to each other, and the bonds of wedlock will be the most desirable of ties.
Your home may be a symbol of heaven. HP 203
By your own example teach your children to pray with clear, distinct voice. Teach them to lift their heads from the chair and never to cover their faces with their hands. Thus they can offer their simple prayers, repeating the Lord’s prayer in concert. Pr 215
"And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” Genesis 2:18 (King James Version)
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
God made from the man a woman, to be a companion and help-meet for him, to be one with him, to cheer, encourage, and bless him, he in turn to be her strong helper...
Marriage has received Christ’s sanction and blessing and is to be regarded as a sacred institution. True religion does not counterwork the Lord’s plans. God ordained that woman should be united with man in holy wedlock, to raise up families that would be crowned with honor who would be symbols of the family in heaven.... Marriage, when joined with purity and holiness, truth and righteousness, is one of the greatest blessings ever given to the human family....
The divine love emanating from Christ never destroys human love, but includes human love, refined and purified. By it human love is elevated and ennobled. Human love can never bear its precious fruit until it is united with the divine nature and trained to grow heavenward. Jesus wants to see happy marriages, happy firesides. The warmth of true friendship and the love that binds the hearts of husband and wife are a foretaste of heaven. God has ordained that there should be perfect love and perfect harmony between those who enter into the marriage relation. Let bride and bridegroom in the presence of the heavenly universe pledge themselves to love one another as God has ordained they should....
God made from the man a woman, to be a companion and help-meet for him, to be one with him, to cheer, encourage, and bless him, he in turn to be her strong helper. All who enter into matrimonial relations with a holy purpose—the husband to obtain the pure affections of a woman’s heart, the wife to soften and improve her husband’s character and give it completeness—fulfill God’s purpose for them.
Christ came not to destroy this institution, but to restore it to its original sanctity and elevation. He came to restore the moral image of God in man, and He began His work by sanctioning the marriage relation. He who made the first holy pair and who created for them a paradise, has put His seal upon the marriage institution, first celebrated in Eden, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. HP 202
"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord." Proverbs 18:22 (King James Version)
The divine love emanating from Christ never destroys human love, but includes human love, refined and purified. By it human love is elevated and ennobled. Human love can never bear its precious fruit until it is united with the divine nature and trained to grow heavenward. Jesus wants to see happy marriages, happy firesides. The warmth of true friendship and the love that binds the hearts of husband and wife are a foretaste of heaven. God has ordained that there should be perfect love and perfect harmony between those who enter into the marriage relation. Let bride and bridegroom in the presence of the heavenly universe pledge themselves to love one another as God has ordained they should....
God made from the man a woman, to be a companion and help-meet for him, to be one with him, to cheer, encourage, and bless him, he in turn to be her strong helper. All who enter into matrimonial relations with a holy purpose—the husband to obtain the pure affections of a woman’s heart, the wife to soften and improve her husband’s character and give it completeness—fulfill God’s purpose for them.
Christ came not to destroy this institution, but to restore it to its original sanctity and elevation. He came to restore the moral image of God in man, and He began His work by sanctioning the marriage relation. He who made the first holy pair and who created for them a paradise, has put His seal upon the marriage institution, first celebrated in Eden, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. HP 202
A mistake has been made by many in their religious exercises in long praying and long preaching, upon a high key, with a forced voice, in an unnatural strain and an unnatural tone. Pr 215
"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord." Proverbs 18:22 (King James Version)
Friday, April 5, 2013
Infidels know not that celestial aid is provided for all who seek for it by faith. Every provision has been made in behalf of every soul who shall seek to be a partaker of the divine nature and be complete in Jesus Christ...
So perfect is the character represented which men must have in order to be Christ’s disciples that the infidel has said that it is not possible for any human being to attain unto it. But no less a standard must be presented by all who claim to be children of God. Infidels know not that celestial aid is provided for all who seek for it by faith. Every provision has been made in behalf of every soul who shall seek to be a partaker of the divine nature and be complete in Jesus Christ. Every defect is to be discerned and cut away from the character with an unsparing decision.
The people of God are to turn every action into devotion. They are to partake of every meal as if they knew it was a token of the love of the infinite God expressed to them. The termination of one duty is to be the commencement of the next that presents itself. Then the Christian character will be manifest in a life of continuous obedience and service to Jesus Christ.
Whatever business engagements men may yoke up with, if Christians, they must wear the yoke of duty to Christ. This is their allegiance. They are to consider themselves bound by superior obligations. The Master, Jesus Christ, has placed His yoke upon the neck of every disciple. The life service is pledged to Him in accepting His yoke. Anything that will mar or hinder his perfect service to God is to be broken off, whatever its nature or character may be....
The Lord has united His nature with humanity expressly that He might become a more distinguishable and definite object for our contemplation and love. He invites us to draw near and contemplate the great light, the invisible God invested in robes of humanity, emitting a glory so softened and subdued that our eyes can endure the sight. Christ is the light of heaven. In His face we shall see God. Bear in mind the prayer of Christ, that His people may be one with Him as He is one with the Father, that they may be with Him where He is and behold His glory. HP 201
Praying to great length, as some do, is all out of place...The position in prayer should be perfectly natural. Long praying wearies, and is not in accordance with the gospel of Christ. Half or even quarter of an hour is altogether too long. A few minutes’ time is long enough to bring your case before God and tell Him what you want; and you can take the people with you and not weary them out and lessen their interest in devotion and prayer. They may be refreshed and strengthened, instead of exhausted. Pr 215
"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 1 Peter 5:10 (King James Version)
The people of God are to turn every action into devotion. They are to partake of every meal as if they knew it was a token of the love of the infinite God expressed to them. The termination of one duty is to be the commencement of the next that presents itself. Then the Christian character will be manifest in a life of continuous obedience and service to Jesus Christ.
Whatever business engagements men may yoke up with, if Christians, they must wear the yoke of duty to Christ. This is their allegiance. They are to consider themselves bound by superior obligations. The Master, Jesus Christ, has placed His yoke upon the neck of every disciple. The life service is pledged to Him in accepting His yoke. Anything that will mar or hinder his perfect service to God is to be broken off, whatever its nature or character may be....
The Lord has united His nature with humanity expressly that He might become a more distinguishable and definite object for our contemplation and love. He invites us to draw near and contemplate the great light, the invisible God invested in robes of humanity, emitting a glory so softened and subdued that our eyes can endure the sight. Christ is the light of heaven. In His face we shall see God. Bear in mind the prayer of Christ, that His people may be one with Him as He is one with the Father, that they may be with Him where He is and behold His glory. HP 201
Praying to great length, as some do, is all out of place...The position in prayer should be perfectly natural. Long praying wearies, and is not in accordance with the gospel of Christ. Half or even quarter of an hour is altogether too long. A few minutes’ time is long enough to bring your case before God and tell Him what you want; and you can take the people with you and not weary them out and lessen their interest in devotion and prayer. They may be refreshed and strengthened, instead of exhausted. Pr 215
"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 1 Peter 5:10 (King James Version)
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The true Christian obtains an experience which brings holiness...there is no limit to the promises of God...
Sanctification—how many understand its full meaning? The mind is befogged by sensual malaria. The thoughts need purifying. What might not men and women have been had they realized that the treatment of the body has everything to do with the vigor and purity of mind and heart! ... Men and women have been bought with a price, and what a price! Even the life of the Son of God. What a terrible thing it is for them to place themselves in a position where their physical, mental, and moral powers are corrupted, where they lose their vigor and purity. Such men and women cannot offer an acceptable sacrifice to God.
The true Christian obtains an experience which brings holiness. He is without a spot of guilt upon the conscience or a taint of corruption upon the soul. The spirituality of the law of God, with its limiting principles, is brought into his life. The light of truth irradiates his understanding. A glow of perfect love for the Redeemer clears away the miasma which has interposed between his soul and God. The will of God has become his will, pure, elevated, refined, and sanctified. His countenance reveals the light of heaven. His body is a fit temple for the Holy Spirit. Holiness adorns his character. God can commune with him, for soul and body are in harmony with God.
There are many who, though striving to obey God’s commandments, have little peace or joy. This lack in their experience is the result of a failure to exercise faith. They walk, as it were, in a salt land, a parched wilderness. They claim little, when they might claim much; for there is no limit to the promises of God. Such ones do not correctly represent the sanctification that comes through obedience to the truth. The Lord would have all His sons and daughters happy, peaceful, and obedient. Through the exercise of faith the believer comes into possession of these blessings. Through faith, every deficiency of character may be supplied, every defilement cleansed, every fault corrected, every excellence developed. HP 200
We must pray constantly, with a humble mind and a meek and lowly spirit. We need not wait for an opportunity to kneel before God. We can pray and talk with the Lord wherever we may be. Pr 215
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (King James Version)
The true Christian obtains an experience which brings holiness. He is without a spot of guilt upon the conscience or a taint of corruption upon the soul. The spirituality of the law of God, with its limiting principles, is brought into his life. The light of truth irradiates his understanding. A glow of perfect love for the Redeemer clears away the miasma which has interposed between his soul and God. The will of God has become his will, pure, elevated, refined, and sanctified. His countenance reveals the light of heaven. His body is a fit temple for the Holy Spirit. Holiness adorns his character. God can commune with him, for soul and body are in harmony with God.
There are many who, though striving to obey God’s commandments, have little peace or joy. This lack in their experience is the result of a failure to exercise faith. They walk, as it were, in a salt land, a parched wilderness. They claim little, when they might claim much; for there is no limit to the promises of God. Such ones do not correctly represent the sanctification that comes through obedience to the truth. The Lord would have all His sons and daughters happy, peaceful, and obedient. Through the exercise of faith the believer comes into possession of these blessings. Through faith, every deficiency of character may be supplied, every defilement cleansed, every fault corrected, every excellence developed. HP 200
We must pray constantly, with a humble mind and a meek and lowly spirit. We need not wait for an opportunity to kneel before God. We can pray and talk with the Lord wherever we may be. Pr 215
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (King James Version)
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Faith must grasp the power of Jesus Christ, else there is no safety. Licentious practices are getting to be as common as in the days before the Flood...
There are always those of pliant, accommodating dispositions who can with difficulty pronounce the word NO squarely, who are ready to be led away from God by a stronger, determined will. These have no interior strength to rely upon, no firm principle to save them from accepting evil suggestions and forming wrong habits....
The moral dangers to which all, both old and young, are exposed are daily increasing.... Satan is making masterly efforts to involve married men and women and children and youth in impure practices. His temptations find acceptance in many hearts, because they have not been elevated, purified, refined, and ennobled by the sacred truth which they claim to believe. Not a few have been low and vile in thought and common in talk and deportment, so that when Satan’s temptations come they have no moral power to resist them and fall an easy prey....
We have need to be alarmed if we have not the fear of God constantly before us. We have need to fear if there is any departing from the living God, for He alone is our strength and fortress, into which we may run and be safe when the enemy makes a charge upon us with his temptations.
It is a subject of interest to every soul of us, how we shall keep our vessels unto honor in the sight of a holy God.... There is no safety for us when we lie down, when we rise up, when we go out, and when we come in. Satan and evil angels have conspired with evil men and evil women, and the whole energies of the powers of darkness will gather themselves together to lead astray and destroy every soul that is not garrisoned with firm principles of eternal truths....
The principles of righteousness must be implanted in the soul. Faith must grasp the power of Jesus Christ, else there is no safety. Licentious practices are getting to be as common as in the days before the Flood.... The weak moral powers of men and women in this age who claim to be commandment keepers alarm me. Everyone needs to arouse and lift up the standard of purity. HP 199
It is not necessary to be alone, or to bow upon your knees, to pray; but in the midst of your labor your souls may be often uplifted to God, taking hold upon His strength; then you will be men of high and holy purpose, of noble integrity, who will not for any consideration be swayed from truth, right, and justice. Pr 214-215
"There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Genesis 39:9 (King James Version)
The moral dangers to which all, both old and young, are exposed are daily increasing.... Satan is making masterly efforts to involve married men and women and children and youth in impure practices. His temptations find acceptance in many hearts, because they have not been elevated, purified, refined, and ennobled by the sacred truth which they claim to believe. Not a few have been low and vile in thought and common in talk and deportment, so that when Satan’s temptations come they have no moral power to resist them and fall an easy prey....
We have need to be alarmed if we have not the fear of God constantly before us. We have need to fear if there is any departing from the living God, for He alone is our strength and fortress, into which we may run and be safe when the enemy makes a charge upon us with his temptations.
It is a subject of interest to every soul of us, how we shall keep our vessels unto honor in the sight of a holy God.... There is no safety for us when we lie down, when we rise up, when we go out, and when we come in. Satan and evil angels have conspired with evil men and evil women, and the whole energies of the powers of darkness will gather themselves together to lead astray and destroy every soul that is not garrisoned with firm principles of eternal truths....
The principles of righteousness must be implanted in the soul. Faith must grasp the power of Jesus Christ, else there is no safety. Licentious practices are getting to be as common as in the days before the Flood.... The weak moral powers of men and women in this age who claim to be commandment keepers alarm me. Everyone needs to arouse and lift up the standard of purity. HP 199
It is not necessary to be alone, or to bow upon your knees, to pray; but in the midst of your labor your souls may be often uplifted to God, taking hold upon His strength; then you will be men of high and holy purpose, of noble integrity, who will not for any consideration be swayed from truth, right, and justice. Pr 214-215
"There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Genesis 39:9 (King James Version)
Monday, April 1, 2013
We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How shall we do it? Shall we inflict pain on the body? No; but put to death the temptation to sin...Jesus will be the helper of all who put their trust in Him...
We are not our own. We have been “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20), not “with corruptible things, as silver and gold, ... but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18, 19); “that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).
All men have been bought with this infinite price. By pouring the whole treasury of heaven into this world, by giving us in Christ all heaven, God has purchased the will, the affections, the mind, the soul, of every human being.... All men are the Lord’s property.
This expression, “bought with a price,” means everything to us. In consideration of the price paid for us, shall we not yield our bodies and souls up to Him who has bought us with His blood? Shall not that which He has redeemed be kept in as wholesome and pure and holy a condition as possible? ... Our very flesh He has saved at an infinite cost, giving His own flesh for the life of the world.
The lower passions have their seat in the body, and work through it. The words “flesh” or “fleshly” or “carnal lusts” embrace the lower, corrupt nature; the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of God. We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How shall we do it? Shall we inflict pain on the body? No; but put to death the temptation to sin. The corrupt thought is to be expelled.... All animal propensities are to be subjected to the higher powers of the soul. The love of God must reign supreme; Christ must occupy an undivided throne. Our bodies are to be regarded as His purchased possession. The members of the body are to become the instruments of righteousness.
Jesus will be the helper of all who put their trust in Him. Those who are connected with Christ have happiness at their command. They follow the path where their Saviour leads, for His sake crucifying the flesh, with its affections and lusts. They have built their hopes on Christ, and the storms of earth are powerless to sweep them from the sure foundation. HP 198
All your good purposes and good intentions will not enable you to withstand the test of temptation. You must be men of prayer. Your petitions must be not faint, occasional, and fitful, but earnest, persevering, and constant. Pr 214
"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." Galatians 5:24 (King James Version)
All men have been bought with this infinite price. By pouring the whole treasury of heaven into this world, by giving us in Christ all heaven, God has purchased the will, the affections, the mind, the soul, of every human being.... All men are the Lord’s property.
This expression, “bought with a price,” means everything to us. In consideration of the price paid for us, shall we not yield our bodies and souls up to Him who has bought us with His blood? Shall not that which He has redeemed be kept in as wholesome and pure and holy a condition as possible? ... Our very flesh He has saved at an infinite cost, giving His own flesh for the life of the world.
The lower passions have their seat in the body, and work through it. The words “flesh” or “fleshly” or “carnal lusts” embrace the lower, corrupt nature; the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of God. We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How shall we do it? Shall we inflict pain on the body? No; but put to death the temptation to sin. The corrupt thought is to be expelled.... All animal propensities are to be subjected to the higher powers of the soul. The love of God must reign supreme; Christ must occupy an undivided throne. Our bodies are to be regarded as His purchased possession. The members of the body are to become the instruments of righteousness.
Jesus will be the helper of all who put their trust in Him. Those who are connected with Christ have happiness at their command. They follow the path where their Saviour leads, for His sake crucifying the flesh, with its affections and lusts. They have built their hopes on Christ, and the storms of earth are powerless to sweep them from the sure foundation. HP 198
All your good purposes and good intentions will not enable you to withstand the test of temptation. You must be men of prayer. Your petitions must be not faint, occasional, and fitful, but earnest, persevering, and constant. Pr 214
"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." Galatians 5:24 (King James Version)
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