Called to Glory and Virtue

God has called us to glory and virtue. We have no right to assimilate with the world—dressing, talking, and living as worldlings do. God has given us a high standard to reach. To enable man to reach this standard, God sent into the world His only begotten Son. In our behalf Christ made an infinite sacrifice. He laid aside His kingly crown and royal robe, clothed His divinity with humanity, and came into our world to teach men and women the laws of life and salvation, which they must carry out to the letter in order to have everlasting life in the kingdom of glory.

Satan claimed that it was impossible for human beings to keep God’s law. In order to prove the falsity of this claim, Christ left His high command, took upon Himself the nature of man, and came to the earth to stand at the head of the fallen race, in order to show that humanity could withstand the temptations of Satan. He became the Head of humanity, to be assaulted with temptations on every point as fallen human nature would be tempted, that He might know how to succor all who are tempted. On this earth He worked out the problem of how to live in accordance with God’s standard of right. Bearing our nature, He was true to God’s standard of righteousness, gaining the victory over Satan. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet He was without sin.

Before Christ came in person to reveal His Father’s character, Satan thought that he would have the whole world on his side. And today the enemy is still playing the game of life with everyone. He seeks to bring in dissension and division. But if we are partakers of the divine nature, we will stand as a united whole. Let us not think that our churches can enjoy God’s blessing while in a state of disunion. In this world we are to be representatives of Christ. He has called us to glory and virtue. As He represented the Father, so we are to represent Him to the world, for in representing Him we are representing the Father, who is in every place to help where help is needed.

We have a great work to perform for the Master. After Jesus has sacrificed so much in our behalf, giving His life for our salvation, shall we by our course of action make Him ashamed of us? … He desires to see us rise to the highest standard. When by living faith we lay hold of the power of a living Christ; when we plead His unfailing promises, and claim them as ours; when we seek for the power of the Holy Spirit, we are eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God.—Manuscript 77, June 7, 1902, a sermon given at the Petaluma, California, campground, “Lessons From the Second Chapter of Peter.”

The Upward Look p. 172
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for my son, Myles. I have just witnessed to him about the mark of the Beast. It’s the first time and unfortunately, it was through texting but this is the furthest I’ve gotten with him in 10+ years. Please pray he will watch the Final Events video link I sent him and that he will finally wake up, repent and be baptized. Jodie
—-Please be in prayer for my friend Allison. With all this isolation, she’s gotten into some websites and convinced herself that she’s homicidal. She called the police and they didn’t take her seriously. Her family saw the insane video she made on Facebook and have gotten her into a mental health facility, but with so much focus on the virus, I worry she may not get the best care. Please let us lift those that are fragile in their minds, that are susceptible to depression. I was just talking with my husband about how there will likely be a spike in suicides because people have no physical outlet for socialization. Jennifer
—-Please pray for my friend, Floyd, who is very sick with Convid-19. Helen [Please pray for all of those who have the Covid 19 virus.]
—-Prayers for the medical workers worldwide. Edwardine
—-Please pray for Tim who is recovering from a bad car accident. Jennifer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
For years, Eileen wanted a dog. Since I was at that time allergic to anything with fur or feathers, I was not very enthusiastic about it. (Once I learned that if I stayed away from dairy and eggs, most of my other allergies were mild or non-existent and I could have a dog with no problem.) She knew better than to whine, cry, beg and plead, because then she would never get her desire. Wisely, she would talk to me about how lonely she felt for a cuddly pet. I explained that the dog would have to be outside and that would it would not be happy if it had to be tied up away from us. We talked about it many times.
One day, near Eileen’s eleventh birthday, I saw a “Free Puppies” sign as I was driving home from work. Against my better judgment, I stopped the car and went up to the house. As the man showed me the puppies, my heart was won by this adorable white pup that had large, honey-colored splotches and eyes that were mixed light blue and brown.
When Eileen and my other two children saw the puppy they were thrilled! Eileen was the happiest of all! She named him Butterscotch because of those honey-colored patches. The children petted him and cuddled him and he didn’t bother my allergies too badly while he was so tiny. As soon as he got a little bigger, however, he did, so he had to be tied outside. That was really hard on him.
He didn’t get played with as much out there in the backyard so he felt lonely. He looked so pitiful that I felt sorry for him and told the children that they needed to spend more time with him. I also decided to do what I could to give him some attention. As I was doing dishes or would pass by the kitchen window, I would talk to him. For some reason, I didn’t call him Butterscotch: I called him Dumb Dog. He loved to be talked to and I enjoyed it too. I really liked him and talked to him so much that he began to think that Dumb Dog was his name. Eileen was not at all happy with me. Butterscotch only came to her when she called him Dumb Dog.
Sometimes people often look at a person and immediately make a judgment. People often consider someone worthless and treat them that way. After a while that person begins to believe others’ opinion about himself and begins to think of himself as worthless. He believes that no one really wants to have him around and begins to avoid others. Soon he is so lonely, depressed, and sad that he begins to wonder why he is breathing air that someone better could be breathing.
Praise God! We have a Saviour Who never views us in that light! Jesus assures us, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Matt 10:29-31 He loves each one as if there were no other. He tenderly cares for us, wooing us, drawing us to Himself with His Great Love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 A familiar verse, but oh, how much is in it!
Think of it! Jesus, Who is worshiped and adored by all the inhabitants unfallen, “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Phil 2:5-8 What love! His willingness to suffer and die for us is beyond our comprehension. John exclaims, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3
May we look upon others as valuable because Jesus died for them and longs for them to be close to Him. May we love “Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.” May we give diligence to “keep [ourselves] in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.” Jude 21-25
Rose