To God be the Glory

The Bible has little to say in praise of men. Little space is given to recounting the virtues of even the best men who have ever lived. This silence is not without purpose; it is not without a lesson. All the good qualities that men possess are the gift of God; their good deeds are performed by the grace of God through Christ. Since they owe all to God the glory of whatever they are or do belongs to Him alone; they are but instruments in His hands. More than this—as all the lessons of Bible history teach—it is a perilous thing to praise or exalt men; for if one comes to lose sight of his entire dependence on God, and to trust to his own strength, he is sure to fall. Man is contending with foes who are stronger than he…. It is impossible for us in our own strength to maintain the conflict; and whatever diverts the mind from God, whatever leads to self-exaltation or to self-dependence, is surely preparing the way for our overthrow. The tenor of the Bible is to inculcate distrust of human power and to encourage trust in divine power

The truly converted soul is illuminated from on high…. His words, his motives, his actions, may be misinterpreted and falsified; but he does not mind it because he has greater interests at stake…. He is not ambitious for display; he does not crave the praise of men. His hope is in heaven, and he keeps straight on, with his eye fixed on Jesus. He does right because it is right.

By their good works, Christ’s followers are to bring glory, not to themselves, but to Him through whose grace and power they have wrought. It is through the Holy Spirit that every good work is accomplished, and the Spirit is given to glorify, not the receiver, but the Giver. When the light of Christ is shining in the soul, the lips will be filled with praise and thanksgiving to God. Your prayers, your performance of duty, your benevolence, your self-denial, will not be the theme of your thought or conversation. Jesus will be magnified, self will be hidden, and Christ will appear as all in all
Conflict and Courage p. 365
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for the Santa Rosa SDA Church and members. Many have been affected by the wild fires. Also please pray for my family members who live there as well. Entire neighborhoods have been burned to the ground and it is still out of control. The fire is burning in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino counties, 75000 acres so far. Shirley
—-Visited a dear friend of mine this evening. He’s on hospice and will be leaving this world soon. Keep his wife Veronica in prayer, along with their kids and grandkids. Connie
—–I can’t find my glasses. please pray that i find them. Tammy
—–Please pray for my sister, she has sugar was found yesterday not responding! Her sugar was 12 in ICU now ! We guess she was out for about 4 hours befor we found her. Drs say it was not good for the brain not to have sugar for that amount of time! Going to do a eeg on her this morning. All her signs are good, but want wake up. She’s all the family I have! She’s only 62 a week ago. Thank you for your prayers! Toni
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Dear Friends,

When I was seven, my mother had a boyfriend named George. He lived with his mother in a large, white house near a lake. She sometimes took me to visit him there. One hot, summer day, we went there to go swimming. I liked to play in the water but did not know how to swim. My mother and George left me to play around in the shallows while they went out into the deeper water. The lake was quite shallow, so they had to go out very far in order to swim.

I soon tired of being alone at the shore. It was lonely all by myself. Looking out across the water, I noticed that my mother and George were having lots of fun. I could tell that they were standing rather than swimming. I wanted to have fun too, so I decided that I would walk out to where my mother was.

Suddenly, I stepped into a large drop-off and found myself completely underwater. It happened so fast, I had not even had time to shut my eyes. The bright sunshine shining through the water that enveloped me make it appear a strange yellow-green color. It seemed so unreal that I was not even afraid. I did not even realize my danger. I just held my breath and looked around. Everything seemed so unreal and pleasurable that I didn’t even think of breathing or trying to get out of that hole.

The next thing I remember was being on the shore gasping for breath. Years later, when we were talking about this incident, my mother explained that George had looked toward the shore and had seen me disappear from view. He was an excellent swimmer and soon had reached the place where he had last seen me. It did not take him long to find me and drag me to shore.

How many people are looking around at this world’s pleasures with as much wonder and admiration as I did that underwater landscape. They do not realize the danger they are in any more than I did. They see the allurements of sin and walk headlong into them not realizing that they are walking into a trap: a trap that they cannot get out of by themselves. They do not know that their “adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 They think they are enjoying life and having fun. Suddenly, without warning, everything goes terribly wrong. They find themselves drowning in a sea of sin. They want to be free, but they cannot of themselves escape. Their only hope is for someone to save them out of their danger.

Praise God! Someone has volunteered to save us! The Great Creator of the Universe left all the glories of Heaven to rescue us from the sea of iniquity in which we are drowning. He, Whom all Heaven adored came down to this wretched planet, suffered all the abuse that evil men could help upon Him, and died for us that we might have eternal life in His Glorious Home Above. The One Who knew no sin became “sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Cor 5:21 He, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 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 2:6-8 Our Loving Rescuer is pleading with all, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt 11:28-30

John declares, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” 1 John 4:11 Indeed, our Great Commander has promised to be with us as we cooperate with Him in this great work of rescuing the perishing. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Matt 28:19,20 “Brethren, if any…do err from the truth, and one convert him, Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” James 5:19,20

“Ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves 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 20-25

Rose