Monday, December 29, 2014

While you condemn others, the Lord condemns you.... May the Lord move upon the hearts of the individual members of the church, until His transforming grace shall be revealed in life and character. Then when you assemble together it will not be to criticize one another, but to talk of Jesus and His love...

I understand how the enemy is working, and I wish to say to every soul, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” There are times when we have to take a decided stand, but in magnifying the Lord be sure that you do not condemn and make charges against others. It would cause all the powers of hell to rejoice if our people were to become divided.

The way has been preparing for contention and division. Some are in great danger of drifting into infidelity. Now let your study be to save these imperiled souls. I have sorrow, great sorrow, of heart, that they do not understand their bearings....

There is one thing you can do. You can see that you yourselves are in a condition of repentance. Your hearts need to be converted. The end is near; the time is short. Plead with God; clear the King’s highway; and lift up the trailing standard on which is inscribed, The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. As you advance step by step, proclaim, Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.


Moses declared, “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Sure this great nation is a wise and understanding people.... 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 son’s sons” (Deuteronomy 4:5-9) (Letter 30, 1906).

And the Saviour has plainly said, “With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged”.... Who can stand before God and plead a faultless character, a blameless life? And how, then, dare any criticize and condemn their brethren? Those who themselves can hope for salvation only through the merits of Christ, who must seek forgiveness by virtue of His blood, are under the strongest obligation to exercise love, pity, and forgiveness toward their fellow sinners....

While you condemn others, the Lord condemns you.... May the Lord move upon the hearts of the individual members of the church, until His transforming grace shall be revealed in life and character. Then when you assemble together it will not be to criticize one another, but to talk of Jesus and His love (The Review and Herald, November 30, 1886). LHU 334



The hearts of the listening disciples were deeply moved. They had marked how often He spent long hours in solitude in communion with His Father. His days were passed in ministry to the crowds that pressed upon Him, and in unveiling the treacherous sophistry of the rabbis, and this incessant labor often left Him so utterly wearied that His mother and brothers, and even His disciples, had feared that His life would be sacrificed. But as He returned from the hours of prayer that closed the toilsome day, they marked the look of peace upon His face, the sense of refreshment that seemed to pervade His presence. It was from hours spent with God that He came forth, morning by morning, to bring the light of heaven to men. The disciples had come to connect His hours of prayer with the power of His words and works. Now, as they listened to His supplication, their hearts were awed and humbled. As He ceased praying, it was with a conviction of their own deep need that they exclaimed, Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1) Pr 289-290



"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Matthew 7:1-2 (King James Version)