That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. Philippians 2:15.
It is God’s purpose to manifest through His people the principles of His kingdom. That in life and character they may reveal these principles, He desires to separate them from the customs, habits, and practices of the world. . . . By beholding the goodness, the mercy, the justice, and the love of God revealed in His church, the world is to have a representation of His character. And when the law of God is thus exemplified in the life, even the world will recognize the superiority of those who love and fear and serve God above every other people in the world.
Seventh-day Adventists, above all people, should be patterns of piety, holy in heart and in conversation. To them have been entrusted the most solemn truths ever committed to mortals. Every endowment of grace and power and efficiency has been liberally provided. They look for the near return of Christ in the clouds of heaven. For them to give to the world the impression that their faith is not a dominating power in their lives is greatly to dishonor God.
Because of the increasing power of Satan’s temptations, the times in which we live are full of peril for the children of God, and we need to learn constantly of the Great Teacher, that we may take every step in surety and righteousness. Wonderful scenes are opening before us; and at this time a living testimony is to be borne in the lives of God’s professed people, so that the world may see that in this age, when evil reigns on every side, there is yet a people who are laying aside their will and are seeking to do God’s will–a people in whose hearts and lives God’s law is written. . . .
Their thoughts are to be pure, their words noble and uplifting. The religion of Christ is to be interwoven with all that they do and say. They are to be a sanctified, purified, holy people, communicating light to all with whom they come in contact. It is His purpose that by exemplifying the truth in their lives, they shall be a praise in the earth. The grace of Christ is sufficient to bring this about.
Maranatha p. 113
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Prayer Requests
—– Pray for my friends, a father & his 16 month old daughter who were in a car accident Monday. His daughter is in critical condition & was non responsive when they got to her at the scene of the accident. The father was released from the hospital Tuesday night. Fe
——Baby Adam has gained four or five ounces. He was back on the respirator but appears to be a little fighter. Keep praying. — Daniel has been battling cancer. Please pray for him as they found another lump and it is worrisome for everyone.— And my sweet little friend Alice is still dealing with cancer. She has more surgery Dec 1. M
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Dear Friends,
Bread is a staple of life. Everyone, no matter what country they live in or what form it is in, likes bread—everyone, that is, except Eileen. She is the only person I have ever met that does not like bread. When she was a little girl, I was greatly concerned about this as we were poor and did not always have money to buy the food needed to get the proper nutrition. Bread is nutritious so she needed to eat bread. One day when she was about seven, I was attempting to get her to eat all of her slice of bread. That particular day, Eileen had managed to choke down everything except the crusts. She absolutely refused to eat them. I explained to her that the crust was the most nutritious part of the bread and that was why she needed to eat it.
Ron interrupted, “Don’t lie to that child!” I was shocked. I had not lied to her. I really believed that it was the most nutritious part. Ron asked how could the crust have more nutrition than the rest of the bread since it was just the oven-browned part of the loaf. I thought for a minute and realized that he was right. Then I explained to him that my grandmother had always told me that when I was a child, and I had believed her, without thinking it through.
How many times, we do the same in our spiritual life. How often we believe what our parents or grandparents have taught us, instead of searching the Scriptures for ourselves to see what is written therein. How easy it is to believe what our pastor preaches without comparing it with a “Thus saith the Lord.” John advises, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1
When He was criticized by the Pharisees for not following their tradition of the ceremonial washing of hands (they had to allow a certain number of drops of water to drip off from their elbows), He used this to illustrate an important point. Man’s tradition is worth nothing in the sight of God. Only that which agrees with Scripture is to be taken as truth. “Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.” Mark 7:5-13
Paul spoke of the importance of comparing all things by the One Great Standard, “though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Gal 1:8 Think of it! Paul is telling us that even if an angel were to come to us and give us a message, we are still to compare it with the truths of God’s Word. In the book of Acts, the Bereans were commended for doing just that. When Paul preached the gospel message to them, they listened carefully and compared what they heard with the Scriptures. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11 So should we.
Peter illustrates it thus, “we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:16-21 Think of it! Peter is speaking here of the experience that he, along with James and John had on the Mount of Transfiguration. (Matt 17:1-5) After reminding his readers of this experience, Peter tells them that the Scriptures are even more sure than what we see, even more reliable than what we hear, even more trustworthy than what we experience. God’s Word does not change. It stands fast forever. It is the sure foundation and we must build our life on it. We can safely trust His Word. We can rely on the truths of God’s Word no matter what is happening around us.
David says, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. All his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever.” Ps 119:89,160,105; 111:7,8
May we “study to show [ourselves] approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15 May we compare all things by the Scriptures, keeping those things we are told or read that are true and rejecting what is false. May we hide God’s Holy Word deep within our heart, meditating upon His Holy Word, that we will not sin against the One Who loves us so. (Ps 119:9-11)
Rose