devotional – Page 6 – Light In The Clouds

Bury All Bitterness

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“My days pass faster than a weaver’s shuttle.” — Job 7:6

Life is short. Since our time is limited, we should use it carefully and sincerely.

The Bible reminds us that we are living in a serious and sacred time. In Bible days, the Day of Atonement was a time when God’s people humbled themselves. They searched their hearts, confessed their sins, felt genuine sorrow, turned away from wrong, and trusted fully in God’s saving mercy.

If there have been problems between you and others—if jealousy, anger, bitterness, or bad thoughts have taken root—don’t ignore them. Confess these sins honestly. Don’t speak in vague terms. Go directly to the person involved. Be clear. Be humble.

If you are guilty of one wrong and the other person of many, confess your one wrong as if you were the one most at fault. Reach out your hand. Let God’s Spirit soften your heart. Say something like:

“Will you forgive me? My attitude toward you hasn’t been right. I want to make things right. I don’t want anything standing you and I. It does not seem like that is God’s way at all. I want a clean heart and a clean record.”

Who could resist a spirit like that?

There is too much coldness today—too much indifference, too much of the “I don’t care” attitude—among those who claim to follow Christ. We should care deeply for one another. We should protect and look out for each other. Jesus said, “Love one another.” When we do this, we become a strong defense against the enemy’s attacks.

When opposition or hardship comes, we should not become harsh or hurtful. We should not join in blaming, accusing, or tearing others down. That kind of spirit does not come from God.

Use the remaining days of this year, 2025, to pull out every root of bitterness. Bury it with the old year. Start the new year with kinder hearts and deeper love for everyone in God’s family. Stand close together. Stay united. When we stand together, we are strong—but when we are divided, we fall.

Choose to live on a higher level this year than last year. Every day, in every way, go one step better. Try not to worry about the whole new year in advance. It might seem impossible then. One day at a time. One step at a time. One step better at a time seems to be God’s ideal. Mat 6:34 tells us that “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

As we move into this new year,2026,God assures us that He will not only make a way, but a new way (Isa 43:19) A new way shaped by His transforming grace and sustained by His presence each day. We are not called to instant perfection, but to daily surrender, reaching for one step better as God patiently reshapes our hearts. Scripture gives us this transforming confidence:

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

This journey is not driven by willpower alone, but by divine renewal, captured clearly in this assurance:

“A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next. Those who are under the instruction of Christ in this world will take every divine attainment with them to the heavenly mansions. And in heaven we are continually to improve. How important, then, is the development of character in this life. {CG 161.1}

True Character a Quality of the Soul.–Mental ability and genius are not character, for these are often possessed by those who have the very opposite of a good character. Reputation is not character. True character is a quality of the soul, revealing itself in the conduct.{CG 161.2}

Even When I Am Afraid

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Even When I Am Afraid

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3)

Creator, whenever there seems to be a good reason for fear, help me to trust you. Help all who read this message to trust you.

“I will trust” are words of abiding confidence, even in times of distress. Alternating passages of pain and faith are a characteristic of most people’s lives. But Jesus has the ultimate peace plan for the wildest storms we may encounter. Jesus is our peace. Jesus is our wisdom. Jesus is our strength. Jesus is our everything. (Eph 2:13-14)

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3) is not the denial of fear; it is the decision of faith made in the presence of fear. Scripture is honest about the human experience—our lives often move in alternating passages of pain and confidence, lament and hope. True faith does not cancel distress; it anchors us while the storm still rages. To say “I will trust” is to place the weight of the heart on God when the ground beneath us feels unstable.

As another verse affirms,

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Psalm 23:4)

It is a quiet, determined act—choosing confidence in God’s character when circumstances give us every reason to tremble.

“That he might be just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26)

“Faith is trusting God—believing that He loves us and knows best what is for our good.” (Education, p. 253)

Trust grows not by escaping fear, but by walking directly into it—with God. Another promise steadies us:

“Nothing can happen to us except what is permitted by our heavenly Father. All that He permits is necessary for our discipline and development.”
(Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 71)

Scripture echoes this assurance:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.” (Isaiah 41:10)

When fear rises, we return—again and again—to this simple resolve: I will trust. In that repeated choice, faith matures, faith strengthens, and the soul learns the secret of rest in Christ even while the storm continues.

Jesus identifies with us by entering fully into our experience. Ellen White states this without softening the truth:

“He was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share.”
(The Desire of Ages, p. 25)

Imagine it—Jesus right there with you in your storm.

Another picture of trust appears in the storm on the Sea of Galilee:

“But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.” (Mark 4:38)

The disciples panicked while Jesus rested—not because the storm was unreal, but because His confidence in the Father was deeper than the waves. Their cry sounds familiar:

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

One Christian writer describes the moment with striking clarity:

“The disciples could not believe that He was asleep. But Jesus was asleep. He was not disturbed by the storm, because He had no fear. He rested in the Father’s love.” (The Desire of Ages, p. 336)

And she adds:

“In every stormy wind there is a lull; in every night a star.” (The Desire of Ages, p. 336)

Jesus in that storm reminds us that God’s nearness does not vanish when fear is loudest.

“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.”
(Life Sketches, p. 196)

Friends, when the sea is rough and God seems silent, faith learns a deeper lesson—to rest in who He is, not in what we feel.

God’s Word still calls us to that rest:

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27, ESV)

Jesus did not still the storms of life by drawing on a hidden advantage unavailable to humanity. He trusted the Father as we are invited to trust.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3)

Thus we see fulfilled the prophetic word:

“The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced.” (Isaiah 50:7)

And again we are reminded:

“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us.” (Life Sketches, p. 196)

The calm Christ found in the Father’s care during His earthly storms is the same calm He now offers to all who learn to rest their lives in God’s hands.

Prayer

Creator God, Everlasting Father, I come to You in the middle of my own storm—not pretending the winds are gentle or the waves are small, but choosing, like Jesus in the boat, to rest my life in Your promises. When fear rises in me, I claim Your word:

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3)

And again:

“When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” (Micah 7:8)

Father, teach my heart what it means to trust as fully as Christ trusted You. Help me remember that You are near, that You are faithful, and that You have not failed me in the past, for You have said:

“The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced.” (Isaiah 50:7)

Quiet the anxious thoughts that roar louder than the storm itself. Grant me the deep, unshakable peace that allowed Jesus to sleep while the waves crashed around Him. Let my confidence rest not in calm circumstances, but in Your steadfast love. Anchor me in the assurance that You are present, You are good, and You are still speaking peace over the stormy waters of my life.

Teach me to rest—not because the storm has passed, but because You are with me in it.

Until You Bless Me

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Genesis 32:26 (NET) Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, “unless you bless me.”

angel of the Lord is with you (Gen 24:40)

Today’s call is for serious, intentional effort to work with God in knowing His will. Hearing His Voice.

In this text we learn that real strength to resist evil comes from persistent prayer, self-denial, and refusing to give in to comfort or self-indulgence, which can quietly dull our conscience.

True peace doesn’t come from avoiding struggle but from engaging it—growth and victory in Jesus require effort.

Using Jacob’s nighttime wrestling with God as an example, we see that perseverance matters more than brute strength.

Jacob didn’t win by overpowering God but by refusing to let go, even when he was weak and broken. We must similarly, wrestle with God in prayer.

Jacobs transformation came through humility, dependence, and determined faith, not self-reliance. Today’s message urges sustained, focused commitment and faith in Christ.

All night Jacob wrestled with the Angel. Finally the strong wrestler was weakened by a touch on his thigh. He was now disabled and suffering the keenest pain, but he would not loose his hold. All penitent and broken, he clung to the Angel, . . . pleading for a blessing. He must have the assurance that his sin was pardoned. His determination grew stronger, his faith more earnest and persevering, until the very last. The Angel tried to release Himself; He urged, “Let me go, for the day breaketh,” but Jacob answered, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” {CTr 89.4}

Had this been a boastful, presumptuous confidence, Jacob would have been instantly destroyed; but his was the assurance of one who confesses his own unworthiness, yet trusts to the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God.

Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender this sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He had fastened his trembling grasp on the promises of God, and the heart of infinite love could not turn away the sinner’s plea. {CTr 89.5}

As an evidence that Jacob had been forgiven, his name was changed from one that was a reminder of his sin to one that commemorated his victory. “Thy name,” said the Angel, “shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” {CTr 89.6}

Shall we obtain strength from God, and win victory after victory, or shall we try in our own strength, and at last fall back defeated, worn out by vain efforts? Let us, by unreserved surrender to God, obtain the power that everyone must have who conquers in the battle against evil. {CTr 89.7}

Time is short, Christ’s return is near, and overcoming spiritual challenges does not need ease or passivity but rather, requires wholehearted dedication, discipline, and trust in God.

Don’t let Him go until He blesses you! Don’t let Jesus go until He can bless all that you do! Don’t let Jesus go until He can bless who you are and the path that you follow today!

Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Psalms 25:4-5 (KJV)

Would You Be An Overcomer?

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Would You Be An Overcomer?

“Ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion” (Psalms 134:1; Psalms 134:3).

Bible Prayer "hid with Christ" (Col 3:3) — Bible Prayer “hid with Christ” (Col 3:3)

Strange time for adoration, you say, to stand in God’s house by night, to worship in the depth of sorrow — it is indeed an arduous thing. Yes, and therein lies the blessing; it is the test of perfect faith. If I would know the love of my friend I must see what it can do in the winter.

So too with the Divine love. It is easy for me to worship in the summer sunshine when the melodies of life are in the air and the fruits of life are on the tree. But let the song of the bird cease and the fruit of the tree fall, and will my heart still go on to sing? Will I stand in God’s house by night? Will I love Him in His own night? Will I watch with Him even one hour in His Gethsemane? Will I help to bear His cross up the sorrowful way?

Will I stand beside Him in His dying moments with Mary and the beloved disciple? Will I be able with Nicodemus to take up the dead Christ? Then is my worship complete and my blessing glorious. My love has come to Him in His humiliation. My faith has found Him in His lowliness. My heart has recognized His majesty through His mean disguise, and I know at last that I desire not the gift but the Giver. When I can stand in His house by night I have accepted Him for Himself alone. — George Matheson taken from Streams In The Desert, Dec 11th)

“In the daily life you will meet with sudden surprises, disappointments, and temptations. What saith the word? “Resist the devil,” by firm reliance upon God, “and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” Look unto Jesus at all times and in all places, offering a silent prayer from a sincere heart that you may know how to do His will. Then when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard for you against the enemy. When you are almost ready to yield, to lose patience and self-control, to be hard and denunciatory, to find fault and accuse–this is the time for you to send to heaven the prayer, “Help me, O God, to resist temptation, to put all bitterness and wrath and evilspeaking out of my heart. Give me Thy meekness, Thy lowliness, Thy long-suffering, and Thy love.”

I beseech you to make a business of seeking the Lord. Pray much. Weep and pray. Humble yourself before God, relying alone upon the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, One who maketh intercessions for just such sin-polluted souls as yours. If others do not help you as you think they ought to, do not be discouraged. With you it is a case of life or death. Angels of God are watching with interest to see whether you will be overcome by Satan, or [whether you] yourself [will] be an overcomer and through the efficacy of the blood of Christ bruise Satan under your feet. Will you choose Christ as your portion forever?{DG 122.1}

Satan will oppose your efforts to advance. Your path will not always be smooth, but there are encouragements in God’s rich promises. The Lord has pledged His word that in every effort toward righteousness He will help us. We are weak and without wisdom, but God has said: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Only learn to be thorough, never to let go your hold upon God, to persevere in His service, and you will be an overcomer through the blood of the Lamb. In doing this work for yourself you are having an influence on many others whom you associate with. {LHU 129.4}

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;

How Long Will You Wait?

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And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, how long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. (1 Kings 18:21)

Not only were the people listening to Elijah awed by the presence of the king and the priests of Baal on the one side; and of Elijah on the other, but they were “convicted of their own conscience,” and so were quite speechless when asked this question. As the KJV says it: “How long halt ye between the two opinions?”

Now this kind of “speechless” was the same kind of “speechless” that Creator had talked about in Mat 22:12

And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

The contemptuous rejection of Bible Truth, in favor of something that is not truth is not acceptable to God. Often when we are caught between the two opinions, we too become speechless. As if we are muzzled or tongue-tied. When confronted by “the truth as it is in Jesus,” we are bound by our unbelief, and tied up with no reply. We have nothing to say. Our silence condemns us.

We are so blessed to have someone like Jesus. The Book of heaven tells us in 2 Tim 2:13 “If we are unfaithful, God is faithful, for God cannot be untrue to Himself.”

Friends, these are very troubled times we are living in. And during moments like this, we need to stop hesitating between two opinions and give voice to our Creator. God does not want to share our hearts with any other. Ever. Creator wants all of it because He gave us all of Him.

“God died for us while we were still sinners. This shows God’s undying love for us.” (Rom 5:8)

While we were still sinners! Wow! Such amazing words! Words of Truth. Words of Hope. Jesus came here to be with us that we might “sit with Him in heavenly places.”

God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace. (Eph 2:4-7)

Jesus came here for us. Jesus came here to die for us that we might live for Him.

How long will you hesitate between two opinions?

Have you thought about giving your heart to Jesus today?

Why not ask Him into your heart today?

Face To Face With God Our Friend

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Exodus 33:11 (UKJV) And the LORD spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaks unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Do you doubt the validity of this wonderful passage in Scripture? Does it seem impossible to you that anyone could speak with God as they would to a personal friend?

Do you tend to write such verses off as some sort of mysticism reserved for religious crack pots or fanatics? How much of life’s reality and beauty we miss when we cannot look at this text and believe it with all our heart. Would you like to believe that you too can speak with Creator face to face?

Moses knew just how to approach God Moses knew God. And we, like Moses, must cultivate the practice of commuting with Creator. We must experience His presence and listen to His Voice personally.

We can connect with Creator like this best in the quiet of our own heart. We may kneel before God in humility, and out of a genuine longing for His presence and His guidance in our lives.

Jesus will never withhold from us His glorious presence and His kindness and comfort.

John 6:37 (UKJV) All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.

James 2:23 (UKJV) And the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Creator Rich in Mercy

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But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us. We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God’s kindness that saved you.) God has brought us back to life together with Christ Jesus and has given us a position in heaven with him. (Eph 2:4-6, GW)

As adopted sons and daughters of God, this is our rightful place. To be “seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” and to just “sit still” there. But how few of us there are who make it our actual experience! How few of us dare to think that it is even possible for them to simply “sit still” in these “heavenly places” in the everyday life of a world so full of turmoil like we have now.

Some of us have been fooled into thinking that some kind of quick little trip to these “heavenly places,” on Sabbaths, or occasionally during times of great spiritual excitation is all we need to be “religious.” But to be seated there in these “Heavenly places,” every day and all day long is quite another matter. Even though it’s clear that sitting, waiting, in these heavenly places,” is just as much needed all the other days of the week, as on the Sabbath. Think about our Lord, asleep in that boat during the terrible storm, when everyone else was afraid for their life. (Mat 8:23-27)

It’s impossible to estimate the real value of a quiet, waiting soul, in carrying on with our outward activities of daily living. Nothing could possibly hinder more, the working of God’s Holy Educating Spirit, than the spirit of unrest and anxiety.

There is wonder-working power in the saint who is surrounded and filled with the kind spirit of waiting and quiet while sitting in these “Heavenly places.” God’s children know how to trust and be silent while sitting in these “Heavenly places.” Instead of restless, anxiety-filled struggles, we may learn to “sit down” inwardly before Creator, and to invite and permit the divine influences of Creator’s Holy Spirit, work out in silence the trials of the present path Creator is calling us to.

The Church must petition Creator to get our souls quiet enough to be carried along by the living tide of the “water of life.” Yes, we were once “dead in our sins,” (Eph 2:3), we were all at one time rebels against our Creator and Lord. We were enslaved by the devil and our broken human nature. “BUT GOD!” These are the two most wonderful words in scripture.

“BUT GOD!”

BUT GOD!

BUT GOD has made us alive TOGETHER in Christ

Creator could have left us spiritually dead, in rebellion against Him and in bondage to our sins. But He didn’t. Creator did not save us because of anything we were or that we could do. Creator can see all that is in us. He meets us where we are at. Literally. But Creator will not leave us there. He is calling us each to the right path.

Creator did this through Christ Jesus out of his generosity to us to show his amazingly rich kindness in the world to come. God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. It’s not the result of anything you’ve done, so no one can brag about it. God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do. (Eph 2:7-10)

Likewise, we should also show humble patience, waiting, and tolerance for others who seem unworthy or undeserving of our love and compassion. They may be spiritually dull, rebellious, and even antagonistic toward God. So were we; but God loved us anyway. Can we do any less for other sinners?

When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few–this will be our test. At this time, we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason. –5T 136 (1882).

Leadership Failure Equals Opportunity

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Nehemiah 3:5, 27 (UKJV) And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their LORD. After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, opposite to the great tower that lies out, even unto the wall of Ophel.

As we read the sometimes very colorful accounting of events in the book of Nehemiah, it quickly becomes evident that the remnant people of God had big problems, very similar to the ones we have today.

In our text for today we see how the men of Tekoa were contributing whole heartedly to the rebuilding of the city gates and wall, completing two full sections. (see verse 27)

The text also recounts how the work was not supported by the leadership of Tekoa. It says “their nobles did not put their shoulders into the work of their Lord.”

Apparently, lack of committed, involved leadership was not an excuse for these people to refrain from the work of their Lord. Even with the leadership failures, they saw no need to leave the group, or to publicly criticize and accuse.

The priority for them was always the work of their Lord.God’s people never walk in darkness. God’s adopted sons and daughters are always full of light because their eye is always single. To His glory. If we truly receive Christ as both Lord and Savior, He will lead and empower us to keep our eye single. (John 1:12)

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (Mat 6:22)

In the coming days of end time events, God’s people still have the priority of glorifying “their Lord.” Nations and kings will come to see the brightness of our rising! This is why Isaiah also says: “Rise! Shine! For thy light is come and the glory of Creator is risen upon you!” (Isa 60:1)

God’s last day people will have their eye single to God’s glory!

Revelation 14:7 …Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment has come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

How can we “give glory to God,” and worship Creator in all that we do. No matter what others are doing around us?

Perhaps the Old Testament prophets had the right idea when one of them said

Micah 6:8 (NHEB) He has shown you, [all], what is good.What does the Lord require of you, but to act justly,to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

God requires true love to unite the hearts of the human brotherhood, and why this love does not flourish is because selfishness, envy, and jealousy exist. True justice will not injure our fellow men, and true politeness will not offend them.

True Christian courtesy unites and perfects both justice and politeness, and mercy and love make up the filling, giving the finest touches and most graceful charms to the character. Genuine piety in the heart needs to be cultivated by all. 2LtMs, 1875

God chose you, and we keep praying that God will make you worthy of being his people. We pray for God’s power to help you do all the good things that you hope to do and that your faith makes you want to do. Then, because God and our Lord Jesus Christ are so kind, you will bring honor to the name of our Lord Jesus, and he will bring honor to you. (2 Thes 1:11-12, CEV)

Coming Out Of The Closet

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“…I have no one…” (John 5:7)

The context here is that there was no one who would extend mercy in the very place that is called mercy. This pool of Bethesda name means mercy. And it is so interesting to note here how there was no mercy in the place called mercy, for 38 years! (see John 5:5)

There was no mercy (for 38 years!) until Jesus made an appearance! When Jesus came there to the pool, there was mercy immediately. Like an automatic response.

How long will it take for us today to show the love mercy and grace of our Creator God? How many times have we left someone in our church alone, forgotten, neglected, having no one? When are we as the people of God going to show the mercy of our Savior to us?

It seems everyone in the world has come out of the closet except Christians! Many forgotten or shunned people in the church have not been receiving the mercy of Creator for more than 38 years. We are so quiet about Jesus that no one would guess how we do not follow Him!

As Christians we have the Source of all power, yet we see fit to waste away for 38 years, quiet. Angry. Self centered. Many of us even have the nerve to say the law of God is done away with so we can all just do whatever we want or don’t want. Yet Psalms 19:7 says “the law of the Lord is perfect. (Psalms 19:7) we live in an age where whole churches are just night clubs! When so many of us insist that God’s law no longer applies to us we need to just shut down our church and go sell watermelons!

The Bible says in John 3:19, 20 that “this is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world and that people loved darkness because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, lest their deeds should be exposed.

A place called mercy. Where there is no mercy! Christian Night Club. Closet Christians so self centered that they will walk over top of someone for 38 years just so they can get theirs! (John 5:5)

Christians must awake to present truth. Let the redeemed of the LORD start to say so! Day after day the discouraged and downtrodden come to church. Yet the closet Christians are stoically without mercy, bitterly existing in their not so hidden, stony silence.

Perhaps this is why Creator says

Micah 6:8 (UKJV) He has showed you, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

The only ones who will make it to Heaven are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. (Rev 14:4) Jesus went to the place where there was no mercy for 38 years!

My fellow Christians, now is the time to quit the night club! Now is the time to come out of the closet! Now is the day of salvation!

The Small Whisper

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These things are merely a whisper of God’s power at work. How little we would understand if this whisper ever turned into thunder! (Job 26:14, CEV)

This is one of the most stunning of all the verses in the Bible that describe the power of God. Job asserts that if we truly considered God’s great power, we would know that what we observe of creation represents the mere edges of His garment—just His whisper. What would happen to us if ever He were to thunder? (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary)

How faint is the whisper that we hear of Creator, in the midst of our troubles and trials.We often hear but a faint whisper of His power and His character. We struggle to believe in the midst of the fiery furnace, and we come out feeling burned beyond recognition. But then “one like unto The Son of Man is seen there in the flames beside us, and we then partake of THAT power, and His peace, which in the lowliest circumstances, remains “beyond our understanding.” We have only the “faint whisper” to hold onto. Perhaps this is what is being thought of when we hear

And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:12)

Elijah knew that the sound of a gentle whisper was God’s voice. He realized that God doesn’t reveal himself only in powerful, miraculous ways. To look for God only in something big (rallies, churches, conferences, highly visible leaders) may be to miss him because he is often found gently whispering in the quietness of a humbled heart. Are you listening for God? Step back from the noise and activity of your busy life and listen humbly and quietly for his guidance. It may come when you least expect it. (Life Application Notes)

It may seem that Job had far more than His fair share of trials, yet look at how his story ended:

“So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12).

Through his griefs Job came to his heritage. He was tried that his godliness might be confirmed. Strengthened. Manifest. Shining in the darkness. Coming forth as gold.

Surely my troubles are also intended to deepen my character and to clothe me in graces that I had so little of before? Surely, I come to my glory through eclipses, tears, death. My ripest fruit grows against the roughest wall. Job’s afflictions left him with higher conceptions of God and lowlier thoughts of himself. “Now,” he cried, “mine eye seeth thee.” (Job 42:5)

If, through pain and loss, I feel God so near in His majesty that I bend low before Him and pray “Thy will be done” (Mat 26:42) then I will I gain very much. God gave Job glimpses of the future glory, during the worst of his agony. In those wearisome days and nights, he penetrated within the veil, and could say, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” Surely the latter end of Job was more blessed than the beginning.– In the Hour of Silence

It has been said that “Trouble never comes to a person unless she brings a nugget of gold in her hand.”

I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire so that you may be rich; and white garments so that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and to anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. (Rev 3:18, NIV)

Apparent adversity will finally turn out to be the advantage of the right if we are only willing to keep on working and to wait patiently. How steadfastly the great victor souls have kept at their work, dauntless and unafraid! There are blessings which we cannot obtain if we cannot accept and endure suffering. There are joys that can come to us only through sorrow. There are revealings of Divine truth which we can get only when earth’s lights have gone out. There are harvests which can grow only after the plowshare has done its work.– Selected

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most unsightly characters are layered and held together by massive scars; martyrs who have put on their coronation robes glittering with fire, and through their tears have the sorrowful first seen the gates of Heaven. — Chapin

The message to the Laodicean church is highly applicable to us as a people. It has been placed before us for a long time, but has not been heeded as it should have been. When the work of repentance is earnest and deep, the individual members of the church will buy the rich goods of heaven. When you choose to “buy” God’s promise is for you:

I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire so that you may be rich; and white garments so that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and to anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. (Rev 3:18, AFV)

To see the glory of God, to hear His voice in your calamity and heart ache, becomes that “faint whisper” that gives us all the assurance that we need today for whatever is happening around us.

The Laodicean message (Rev 3:18)is applicable to the church at this time. Do you believe this message? Did YOU buy your gold yet? Have you hearts that feel? Or are you constantly saying, We are rich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing? Is it in vain that the declaration of eternal truth has been given to us to be carried to all the nations of the world? God has chosen a people and made them the repositories of truth weighty with eternal results. To them has been given the light that must illuminate the world. Has God made a mistake? Are we indeed His chosen instrumentalities? Are we the men and women who are to bear to the world the messages of Revelation fourteen, to proclaim the message of salvation to those who are standing on the brink of ruin? Do we act as if we were {7BC 961.9}

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you, For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the LORD shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isa 60:1-3)

Some people prefer to belong to the nightclub. They want that “gross darkness” in order to hide their darkness and disdain of the truth. (John 3:19-20)

We Are Each to Give Our Measure of Light. NOT someone else’s measure. Just our’s. Every shining star which God has placed in the heavens obeys His mandate, and gives its distinctive measure of light to make beautiful the heavens at night; so let every converted soul show the measure of light committed to him; and as it shines forth the light will increase and grow brighter. Give out your light. Pour forth your beams mirrored from heaven. O daughter of Zion, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee” {4BC 1153.3}

They who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they who turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever. (Dan 12:3)