Going to the Source of Light

It is sometimes the case that men of intellectual ability, improved by education and culture, fail to comprehend certain passages of Scripture, while others who are uneducated, whose understanding seems weak and whose minds are undisciplined, will grasp the meaning, finding strength and comfort in that which the former declare to be mysterious or pass by as unimportant. Why is this? It has been explained to me that the latter class do not rely upon their own understanding. They go to the Source of light, the One who has inspired the Scriptures, and with humility of heart ask God for wisdom, and they receive it. There are mines of truth yet to be discovered by the earnest seeker.

Christ represented the truth as treasure hid in a field. It does not lie right upon the surface; we must dig for it. But our success in finding it does not depend so much on our intellectual ability as on our humility of heart and the faith which will lay hold upon divine aid.

Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit we shall be continually liable to wrest the Scriptures or to misinterpret them. There is much reading of the Bible that is without profit and in many cases is a positive injury. When the Word of God is opened without reverence and without prayer; when the thoughts and affections are not fixed upon God or in harmony with His will, the mind is clouded with doubt; and in the very study of the Bible, skepticism strengthens. The enemy takes control of the thoughts, and he suggests interpretations that are not correct.

Whenever men are not seeking, in word and deed, to be in harmony with God, then, however learned they may be, they are liable to err in their understanding of Scripture, and it is not safe to trust to their explanations. When we are truly seeking to do God’s will, the Holy Spirit takes the precepts of His Word and makes them the principles of the life, writing them on the tablets of the soul. And it is only those who are following the light already given that can hope to receive the further illumination of the Spirit.—Testimonies for the Church 5:704, 705.

Ye Shall Receive Power p. 103
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Kerrien who is having surgery tomorrow. Pray also for Lorna who fell and has a concussion. Rose
—-Please continue to pray for E and family that God will miraculously guide and protect. R
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Dear Friends,

What a good invention text messaging is! A message that would have taken days to reach the addressee, takes only a matter of seconds to reach them. Often sending or receiving texts from friends and family who live far away or chatting with them over video messaging helps with the loneliness we feel because we cannot be with them.
The key to any relationship is frequent contact. Without that contact, the relationship suffers. So it is with our relationship with our Great Redeemer. If we “pray without ceasing,” our walk with Him will grow closer and richer and deeper. 1 Thes 5:17 Keeping our mind uplifted to the One Who is our Advocate, helps us to turn from sin, and do that which is lawful and right in His sight.
Yet, what little time we spend communing with the All-Powerful King of the Universe. One time I read about a survey of the amount of time spent in prayer. The average was three minutes a day! Unbelievable! How lonesome God must be to hear from His children! How His Great Heart of Love must ache with sadness to watch us go about our daily duties with scarcely even a thought of Him.
Our Blessed Saviour felt a strong need to pray. In fact, he sometimes spent all night in prayer and supplication. “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12 If He, Who is one with the Father, had need of constant communion with His Heavenly Father, should we not spend more time in communion with Him? Paul says, “Continue
in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Col 4:2; Phil 4:6
Jesus reminds us, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Matt 7:11 Our Heavenly Father answers every prayer. Because of His great love for us, He does not always answer our prayers the way we expect Him to, but He answers in the way He sees is best. He does not always give us what we want, because we often ask amiss. (James 4:3)
Just as a parent is overjoyed by the sincere love of their child, so our Heavenly Father loves to have us praise Him for His Goodness and Mercy to us. Yet, how often our prayers are full of more “give me’s” than “thankyous.” Just as we want our children to confide in us, to come to us when they have a problem, to tell us all their joys, to talk to us about what is going on in their life; so God longs to have us tell Him all these things.
He is standing there waiting to guide us through our problems, waiting to help us carry our burdens. He says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matt 7:7 Therefore, let us keep our hearts uplifted to Him in praise and petition. Let us walk in constant communion with God just as Enoch did so long ago. Let us so live that it be said of us, as it was of Abraham, that we are the friend of God.
Rose