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.
Psalms 23
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)
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!
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)
Living With Jesus 1 John 5:11-12
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)
“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)
“be reconciled” 2 Cor 5:20
While Christ was teaching the people, He was also educating His disciples for their future work. In all His instruction there were lessons for them. After giving the parable of the net, He asked them, “Have ye understood all these things?” They said unto Him, “Yea, Lord.” Then in another parable He set before them their responsibility regarding the truths they had received. “Therefore,” He said, “every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”
The treasure gained by the householder he does not hoard. He brings it forth to communicate with others. And by use the treasure increases. The householder has precious things, both new and old. So, Christ teaches that the truth committed to His disciples is to be communicated to the world. And as the knowledge of truth is imparted, it will increase.
All who receive the gospel message into the heart will long to proclaim it. The heaven-born love of Christ must find expression. Those who have put on Christ will relate their experience, tracing step by step the leadings of the Holy Spirit–their hungering and thirsting for the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom He has sent, the results of their searching of the Scriptures, their prayers, their soul agony, and the words of Christ to them, “Thy sins be forgiven thee.” It is unnatural for any to keep these things secret, and those who are filled with the love of Christ will not do so. In proportion as the Lord has made them the depositaries of sacred truth will be their desire that others shall receive the same blessing. And as they make known the rich treasures of God’s grace, more of the grace of Christ will be imparted to them. They will have the heart of a little child in its simplicity and unreserved obedience. Their souls will pant after holiness, and more of the treasures of truth and grace will be revealed to them to be given to the world.
The great storehouse of truth is the word of God– the written word, the book of nature, and the book of experience in God’s dealing with human life. Here are the treasures from which Christ’s workers are to draw. In the search after truth, they are to depend upon God, not upon human intelligences, the great men whose wisdom is foolishness with God. Through His own appointed channels, the Lord will impart a knowledge of Himself to every seeker.
If the follower of Christ will believe His word and practice it, there is no science in the natural world that he will not be able to grasp and appreciate. There is nothing but that which will furnish means for him to impart the truth to others. Natural science is a treasure house of knowledge from which every student in the school of Christ may draw.
As we contemplate the beauty of nature, as we study its lessons in the cultivation of the soil, in the growth of the trees, in all the wonders of earth and sea and sky, there will come to us a new perception of truth. And the mysteries connected with God’s dealings with men, the depths of His wisdom and judgment as seen in human life–these are found to be a storehouse rich in treasure.
But it is in the written word that a knowledge of God is most clearly revealed to fallen man. This is the treasure house of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
The word of God includes the Scriptures of the Old Testament as well as of the New. One is not complete without the other. Christ declared that the truths of the Old Testament are as valuable as those of the New. Christ was as much man’s Redeemer in the beginning of the world as He is today. Before He clothed His divinity with humanity and came to our world, the gospel message was given by Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah. Abraham in Canaan and Lot in Sodom bore the message, and from generation-to-generation faithful messengers proclaimed the Coming One. The rites of the Jewish economy were instituted by Christ Himself. He was the foundation of their system of sacrificial offerings, the great antitype of all their religious service. The blood shed as the sacrifices were offered pointed to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. All the typical offerings were fulfilled in Him.
Christ as manifested to the patriarchs, as symbolized in the sacrificial service, as portrayed in the law, and as revealed by the prophets, is the riches of the Old Testament. Christ in His life, His death, and His resurrection, Christ as He is manifested by the Holy Spirit, is the treasure of the New Testament. Our Savior, the outshining of the Father’s glory, is both the Old and the New.
Of Christ’s life and death and intercession, which prophets had foretold, the apostles were to go forth as witnesses. Christ in His humiliation, in His purity and holiness, in His matchless love, was to be their theme. And to preach the gospel in its fullness, they must present the Savior not only as revealed in His life and teachings, but as foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament and as symbolized by the sacrificial service.
Christ in His teaching presented old truths of which He Himself was the originator, truths which He had spoken through patriarchs and prophets; but He now shed upon them a new light. How different their meaning appeared! A flood of light and spirituality was brought in by His explanation. And He promised that the Holy Spirit should enlighten the disciples, that the word of God should be ever unfolding to them. They would be able to present its truths in new beauty.
Ever since the first promise of redemption was spoken in Eden, the life, the character, and the mediatorial work of Christ have been the study of human minds. Yet every mind, through whom the Holy Spirit has worked, has presented these themes in a light that is fresh and new. The truths of redemption are capable of constant development and expansion. Though old, they are ever new, constantly revealing to the seeker for truth a greater glory and a mightier power.
In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths are all essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding of it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the new. When Christ desired to open to His disciples the truth of His resurrection, He began “at Moses and all the prophets” and “expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:27. But it is the light which shines in the fresh unfolding of truth that glorifies the old. He who rejects or neglects the new does not really possess the old. For him it loses its vital power and becomes but a lifeless form.
There are those who profess to believe and to teach the truths of the Old Testament, while they reject the New. But in refusing to receive the teachings of Christ, they show that they do not believe that which patriarchs and prophets have spoken. “Had ye believed Moses,” Christ said, “ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me.” John 5:46. Hence there is no real power in their teaching of even the Old Testament.
Many who claim to believe and to teach the gospel are in a similar error. They set aside the Old Testament Scriptures, of which Christ declared, “They are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39. In rejecting the Old, they virtually reject the New; for both are parts of an inseparable whole. No man can rightly present the law of God without the gospel, or the gospel without the law. The law is the gospel embodied, and the gospel is the law unfolded. The law is the root; the gospel is the fragrant blossom and fruit which it bears.
The Old Testament sheds light upon the New, and the New upon the Old. Each is a revelation of the glory of God in Christ. Both present truths that will continually reveal new depths of meaning to the earnest seeker.
Truth in Christ and through Christ is measureless. The student of Scripture looks, as it were, into a fountain that deepens and broadens as he gazes into its depths. Not in this life shall we comprehend the mystery of God’s love in giving His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. The work of our Redeemer on this earth is and ever will be a subject that will put to the stretch our highest imagination. Man may tax every mental power in the endeavor to fathom this mystery, but his mind will become faint and weary. The most diligent searcher will see before him a boundless, shoreless sea.
The truth as it is in Jesus can be experienced but never explained. Its height and breadth and depth pass our knowledge. We may task our imagination to the utmost, and then we shall see only dimly the outlines of a love that is unexplainable, that is as high as heaven, but that stooped to the earth to stamp the image of God on all mankind.
Yet it is possible for us to see all that we can bear of the divine compassion. This is unfolded to the humble, contrite soul. We shall understand God’s compassion just in proportion as we appreciate His sacrifice for us. As we search the word of God in humility of heart, the grand theme of redemption will open to our research. It will increase in brightness as we behold it, and as we aspire to grasp it, its height and depth will ever increase.
Our life is to be bound up with the life of Christ; we are to draw constantly from Him, partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from heaven, drawing from a fountain ever fresh, ever giving forth its abundant treasures. If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws near to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is seen in his life a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him.
In those who possess it, the religion of Christ will reveal itself as a vitalizing, pervading principle, a living, working, spiritual energy. There will be manifest the freshness and power and joyousness of perpetual youth. The heart that receives the word of God is not as a pool that evaporates, not like a broken cistern that loses its treasure. It is like the mountain stream fed by unfailing springs, whose cool, sparkling waters leap from rock to rock, refreshing the weary, the thirsty, the heavy laden.
This experience gives every teacher of truth the very qualifications that will make him a representative of Christ. The spirit of Christ’s teaching will give a force and directness to his communications and to his prayers. His witness to Christ will not be a narrow, lifeless testimony. The minister will not preach again, and again the same set discourses. His mind will be open to the constant illumination of the Holy Spirit.
Christ said, “Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life. . . . As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so, he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. . . . It is the Spirit that quickeneth; . . . the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:54-63.
When we eat Christ’s flesh and drink His blood, the element of eternal life will be found in our ministry. There will not be a fund of stale, oft-repeated ideas. The tame, dull sermonizing will cease. The old truths will be presented, but they will be seen in a new light. There will be a new perception of truth, a clearness and a power that all will discern. Those who have the privilege of sitting under such a ministry will, if susceptible to the Holy Spirit’s influence, feel the energizing power of a new life. The fire of God’s love will be kindled within them. Their perceptive faculties will be quickened to discern the beauty and majesty of truth.
The faithful householder represents what every teacher of the children and youth should be. If he makes the word of God his treasure, he will continually bring forth new beauty and new truth. When the teacher will rely upon God in prayer, the Spirit of Christ will come upon him, and God will work through him by the Holy Spirit upon the minds of others. The Spirit fills the mind and heart with sweet hope and courage and Bible imagery, and all this will be communicated to the youth under his instruction.
The springs of heavenly peace and joy, unsealed in the soul of the teacher by the words of Inspiration, will become a mighty river of influence to bless all who connect with him. The Bible will not become a tiresome book to the student. Under a wise instructor the word will become more desirable. It will be like the bread of life and will never grow old. Its freshness and beauty will attract and charm the children and youth. It is like the sun shining upon the earth, perpetually imparting brightness and warmth, yet never exhausted.
God’s holy, educating Spirit is in His word. A light, a new and precious light, shines forth from every page. Truth is there revealed, and words and sentences are made bright and appropriate for the occasion, as the voice of God speaking to the soul. {COL 132.2}
The Holy Spirit loves to address the youth, and to discover to them the treasures and beauties of God’s word. The promises spoken by the great Teacher will captivate the senses and animate the soul with spiritual power that is divine. There will grow in the fruitful mind a familiarity with divine things that will be as a barricade against temptation.
The words of truth will grow in importance and assume a breadth and fullness of meaning which we have never dreamed. The beauty and riches of the word have a transforming influence on mind and character. The light of heavenly love will fall upon the heart as an inspiration.
The appreciation of the Bible grows with its study. Whichever way the student may turn, he will find displayed the infinite wisdom and love of God.
The significance of the Jewish economy is not yet fully comprehended. Truths vast and profound are shadowed forth in their rites and symbols. The gospel is the key that unlocks its mysteries. Through a knowledge of the plan of redemption, its truths are opened to understanding. Far more than we do, it is our privilege to understand these wonderful themes. We are to comprehend the deep things of God. Angels desire to investigate the truths that are revealed to the people who with contrite hearts are searching the word of God and praying for greater lengths and breadths and depths and heights of the knowledge which He alone can give.
As we are near the close of this world’s history, the prophecies relating to the last days especially demand our study. The last book of the New Testament scriptures is full of truth that we need to understand. Satan has blinded the minds of many, so that they have been glad of any excuse for not making the Revelation their study. But Christ through His servant John has here declared what shall be in the last days, and He says, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.” Revelation 1:3.
“This is life eternal,” Christ said, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3. Why is it that we do not realize the value of this knowledge? Why are not these glorious truths glowing in our hearts, trembling upon our lips, and pervading our whole being?
In giving us His word, God has put us in possession of every truth essential for our salvation. Thousands have drawn water from these wells of life, yet there is no diminishing of the supply. Thousands have set the Lord before them, and by beholding have been changed into the same image. Their spirit burns within them as they speak of His character, telling what Christ is to them, and what they are to Christ. But these searchers have not exhausted these grand and holy themes. Thousands more may engage in the work of searching out the mysteries of salvation. As the life of Christ and the character of His mission are dwelt upon, rays of light will shine forth more distinctly at every attempt to discover truth. Each fresh search will reveal something more deeply interesting than has yet been unfolded. The subject is inexhaustible. The study of the incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice and mediatorial work, will employ the mind of the diligent student as long as time shall last; and looking to heaven with its unnumbered years he will exclaim, “Great is the mystery of godliness.”
In eternity we shall learn that which, had we received the enlightenment it was possible to obtain here, would have opened our understanding. The themes of redemption will employ the hearts and minds and tongues of the redeemed through the everlasting ages.
They will understand the truths which Christ longed to open to His disciples, but which they did not have faith to grasp. Forever and forever new views of the perfection and glory of Christ will appear. Through endless ages will the faithful Householder bring forth from His treasure things new and old. {C O L 124.1 – C O L 134.1}
For You, O Creator, have proved us: You have tried us, as silver is tried. (Psalms 66:10).
living sacrifice Rom 12:1-2
Untried character is not reliable. Christians need to be tried by temptation in order that we may learn to seek wisdom from God and to flee to the stronghold in time of trouble. Only those will be successful in resisting temptation who find their help and grace from God. Individually we stand as did our first parents–face to face with manifold temptations that solicit mind and heart. All heaven is watching with intense interest to see whether we will look unto Jesus and submit ourselves to His will, or whether in the temptation we shall follow the inclinations of the natural heart and the solicitations of the evil one.
Let those who are perplexed with temptation go to God in prayer. Persevere in prayer and watch thereunto without doubting, and the Holy Spirit will work in the human agent, bringing heart and mind into subjection to right principles.
Those who through faith are kept by the power of God (1 Pet 1:5)learn good and precious things. They experience the peace of Christ which passeth understanding. (Phil 4:7) In resisting temptation we refuse to be confederate with Satan, and place ourselves under the banner of Jesus Christ. In the sight of heavenly intelligences you develop yourself as a conqueror. It is made manifest that you are a Child of God. (John 1:12)
You represent Christ in true goodness of character, and understand what these words signify:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:14-16).
You receive grace, you develop grace; and as you reveal grace in your words, in your spirit and actions, God pours upon you a larger measure of grace.
In proportion as you surrender yourselves to the working of the Holy Spirit you are supplied with heavenly grace. You are molded and fashioned a vessel unto honor, and you will then become a channel through which God makes manifest His grace to the world.
Pure religion is an imitation of Christ. A religion that is built on self-confidence and selfishness is worthless. The true Christian is a follower of Christ. This following means walking in the light. The heart must be opened to receive the heavenly guest. As long as the heart is closed against His entrance, there can be in it no abiding peace. No sunshine can flood the chambers of the soul temple, breaking through the mist and cloud. {6BC 1101.2}
Patchwork religion is not of the least value with God. He requires the whole heart. No part of it is to be reserved for the development of hereditary or cultivated tendencies to evil. To be harsh, to be severe, too self-important, selfish, to look out for one’s own selfish interest and yet be zealous that others shall deal unselfishly is a religion which is an abomination to God. Many have just such an experience daily, but it is a misrepresentation of the character of Christ. {6BC 1101.6}
Christians are brand-new people on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives them new life, and they are not the same anymore. We are not reformed, rehabilitated, or reeducated—we are re-created (new creations), living in vital union with Christ (Col 2:6-7). At conversion we do not merely turn over a new leaf; we begin a new life under a new Master.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12:1-2, NIV)
God has good, pleasing, and perfect plans for his children. He wants us to be transformed people with renewed minds, living to honor and obey him. Because he wants only what is best for us, and because he gave his Son to make our new life possible, we should joyfully give ourselves as living sacrifices for his service.
“Hide yourself by the brook Cherith” (1 Kings 17:3).
Bible Prayer “hid with Christ” (Col 3:3)
God’s servants must learn the value of the hidden life. The person who is to take a high place before his fellow beings, must sometimes take a low place before their God.
Every saintly soul that would wield great power with other people must win it in some hidden Cherith. The acquisition of spiritual power is impossible, unless we can hide ourselves from others, even from ourselves in some deep place where we may absorb the power of the eternal God. Perhaps like a solar panel, absorbing the light and using it to provide power to others.
A fellow by the name of David Brainerd (April 20, 1718 – October 9, 1747) was an American Presbyterian minister and missionary to the Native Americans among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. Missionaries such as William Carey and Jim Elliot, and Brainerd’s cousin, the Second Great Awakening evangelist James Brainerd Taylor (1801–1829) cite Brainerd as their source of inspiration. David Brainerd had many hours each day of “secret prayer,” in the woods of North America. He did not think he could face his calling by God without being “hidden” like that.
“Turn thee eastward,” the prophet was bidden, “and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee.” {PK 121.2} Just as in the days of Elijah, when we are “hidden with Christ,” God will still provide for our every need. Patmos, the seclusion of the Roman prisons, the Arabian desert, the hills and vales of Palestine, are forever memorable as the Cheriths of those who have gone before us.
Our Lord found His Cherith at Nazareth, and in the wilderness of Judea; amid the olives of Bethany, and the solitude of Gadara. None of us, therefore, can dispense with some Cherith where the sounds of human voices are exchanged for the waters of quietness which are fed from the throne; and where we may taste the sweets and imbibe the power of a life hidden with Christ.(Elijah, by Meyer).
Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. Col 3:3 You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3-4, GW)
“Take up the shield of faith, in your “Cherith” by which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (Eph 6:16)
When self is hid in Jesus, we are shielded from the darts of the enemy. {7BC 908.1}
God is my strength and power: and he makes my way perfect. 2 Sam 22:33.
God gives limitless strength
Too often, we have little idea of the strength that would be ours if we would connect with the Source of all strength. We fall into sin again and again, and think it must always be so. We cling to our infirmities as if they were something to be proud of. Christ tells us that we must set our face as a flint if we would overcome.
For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.(Isa 50:7)
Jesus has borne our sins in His own body on the tree; and through the power He has given us, we may resist the world, the flesh, and the devil. Then let us not talk of our weakness and inefficiency, but of Christ and His strength. When we talk of Satan’s strength, the enemy fastens his power more firmly upon us. When we talk of the power of the Mighty One, the enemy is driven back. As we draw near to God, He draws near to us.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you. (1 Pet 5:6-7)
The Word of the eternal God is our guide. Through this Word we have been made wise unto salvation. This Word is ever to be in our hearts and on our lips. “It is written” is to be our anchor. Those who make God’s Word their counselor realize the weakness of the human heart and the power of the grace of God to subdue every unsanctified, unholy impulse. Their hearts are ever prayerful, and they have the guardianship of holy angels. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God lifts up for them a standard against him.
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.(Isa 59:19)
When God’s Holy Educating Spirit lifts up that standard, there is harmony in the heart; for the precious, powerful influences of truth will have their desired effect.
We must be better acquainted with our Bibles. We might close the door to many temptations, if we would commit to memory passages of Scripture. Let us hedge up the way to Satan’s temptations with “It is written.” We shall meet with conflicts to test our faith and courage, but they will make us strong if we conquer through the grace Jesus is willing to give. But we must believe; we must grasp the promises without a doubt.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.(Psalms 119:105)
Bid the tempted one look not to circumstances, to the weakness of self, or to the power of temptation, but to the power of God’s Word. All its strength is ours.
Friends, we always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.(1 Thes 1:2-5)
Gods promise is for you:
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee. (Isa 26:3)
We can never avoid strife in the world around us, but when we fix our thoughts on God, we can know perfect peace even in turmoil. As we focus our mind on God and his Word, we become steady and stable. Supported by God’s unchanging love and mighty power, we are not shaken by the surrounding chaos.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)
Do you want peace? Keep your thoughts on God and your trust in him.
God’s peace is different from the world’s peace (see John 14:27). True peace is not found in positive thinking, in absence of conflict, or in good feelings. It comes from knowing that God is in control. Our citizenship in Christ’s Kingdom is sure, our destiny is set, and we can have victory over sin. Let God’s peace guard your heart against anxiety.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His church, and the promise belongs to us as much as to the first disciples. But like every other promise, it is given on conditions. There are many who believe and profess to claim the Lord’s promise; they talk about Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit. They do not surrender the soul to be guided and controlled by the divine agencies. We cannot use the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the Spirit God works in His people “to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Phil 2:13). But many will not submit to this. They want to manage themselves. This is why they do not receive the heavenly gift. Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their demand and reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train. It is given according to the riches of the grace of Christ, and He is ready to supply every soul according to the capacity to receive. {DA 672.1}
1 Corinthians 3:13-14 (ASV) each person’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each persons’s work of what sort it is. If anyones work shall abide which they have built thereon, they will receive a reward.
Some people have applied these verses to their personal spiritual growth. But Paul’s teaching here has more to do with our ministry to others. What do we do to build others up? Are we right and they wrong? Is that the kind of building we are expecting to “remain?”
Do we build on Christ as the foundation? Or do we build with something perishable?
Cease From Strife
We, the Christian witness, can can help build God’s Church with either lasting, eternal teachings, or with the ever changing temporary wisdom of the day. Do we attach others to ourselves as the foundation, or do we “attach” them to Christ? Do we use our abilities and spiritual gifts to build up others in the Church or to keep them tied to us somehow? Are we posturing as the “expert” or as the Witness?
Paul warned the church about such predicaments:
Acts 20:28-30 (KJV) Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men shall arise, speaking distorted teachings, to draw away disciples after themselves.
Paul spoke plainly of the dissensions that had arisen in the Corinthian church, and exhorted the members to cease from strife. “I beseech you, brethren,” he wrote, “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Cor 1:10) AA 302.1
As a witness for Christ we are to cease from anything that is strife. Or that leads to strife.
The apostle made no mention of the false teachers who were seeking to destroy the fruit of his labor. Because of the darkness and division in the church, he wisely forbore to irritate them by such references, for fear of turning some entirely from the truth. He called attention to his own work among them as that of “a wise master builder,” who had laid the foundation upon which others had built. But he did not thereby exalt himself; for he declared, “We are laborers together with God.” He claimed no wisdom of his own, but acknowledged that divine power alone had enabled him to present the truth in a manner pleasing to God. United with Christ, the greatest of all teachers, Paul had been enabled to communicate lessons of divine wisdom, which met the necessities of all classes, and which were to apply at all times, in all places, and under all conditions. AA 303.1
Paul knew that the higher Christian attainments can be reached only through much prayer and constant watchfulness, and this he tried to instill into their minds. But he knew also that in Christ crucified they were offered power sufficient to convert the soul and divinely adapted to enable them to resist all temptations to evil. With faith in God as their armor, and with His word as their weapon of warfare, they would be supplied with an inner power that would enable them to turn aside the attacks of the enemy. AA 307.1
The Corinthian believers needed a deeper experience in the things of God. They did not know fully what it meant to behold His glory and to be changed from character to character. They had seen but the first rays of the early dawn of that glory. Paul’s desire for them was that they might be filled with all the fullness of God, following on to know Him whose going forth is prepared as the morning, and continuing to learn of Him until they should come into the full noontide of a perfect gospel faith. AA 307.2
It is our own character and experience that determine our influence upon others. In order to convince others of the power of Christ’s grace, we must know its power in our own hearts and lives. The gospel we present for the saving of souls must be the gospel by which our own souls are saved. Only through a living faith in Christ as a personal Savior is it possible to make our influence felt in a skeptical world. If we would draw sinners out of the swift-running current, our own feet must be firmly set upon the Rock, Christ Jesus. {CSW 99.2}
The badge of Christianity is not an outward sign, not the wearing of a cross or a crown, but it is that which reveals the union of man with God. By the power of His grace manifested in the transformation of character the world is to be convinced that God has sent His Son as its Redeemer. No other influence that can surround the human soul has such power as the influence of an unselfish life. The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian. {CSW 100.1}
“The safest place for me to be is where God wants me to be, even if I don’t want to be there.” -Dan Jackson (April 10, 2015)
Conclusion
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, Isa 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isa 55:10-11, NIV)
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our pains. Yet we esteemed Him stricken, struck by God, and afflicted. (Isa 53:4, TLV)
light in our clouds of sorrow
Grief and sorrow is an experience that we all have, at one time or another. Everyone, at one time or another reaches a time when the curtains must be drawn, and the moving grief enshrouds our soul. Sooner or later Gesthemane comes to us all.
In many cases, sorrow likes to be masked, or disguised. People that we meet today, or that we already know, might be smiling, even though their heart is broken. Seemingly, beyond repair. Out of reach for recovery. If the curtain that veils our humanity could be parted, perhaps we would see grief and sorrow that would cause us to quiet our voice, temper our opinions, and soften our steps as we deal with people undergoing the experience of losing a loved one, or some other severe tragedy.
Good Grief
My precious friends, I see today
There is light I have waited for
the sunrise shows the better way
and now I see Heavens open door
If only we knew each other better
Just you and I and all the rest
We would see past the outer shell
and feel the sorrows all unguessed
We would see in a different light
the griefs our neighbor has to bear
in love of Christ we bring His light
show all how Jesus Christ does care
We would quit our cold complaining
our hand of light and trust extend
If we only knew each other better
We would count each one our friend
The way I wait for light like this
is in the sunrise bright and fair
there is no one whom I want to miss
I pray you know the Savior’s care
– David T Battler, August 2025
In the contemplation of Christ we linger on the shore of a love that is measureless. We endeavor to tell of this love, and language fails us. We consider His life on earth, His sacrifice for us, His work in heaven as our advocate, and the mansions He is preparing for those who love Him, and we can only exclaim, O the height and depth of the love of Christ! “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 4:10; 1 John 3:1. {AA 333.3}
In every true disciple this love, like sacred fire, burns on the altar of the heart. It was on the earth that the love of God was revealed through Christ. It is on the earth that His children are to reflect this love through blameless lives. Thus sinners will be led to the cross to behold the Lamb of God. {AA 334.1}
To all who are in the valley of the shadow this day, the word of the Lord breaks forth like a beautiful sunrise on a summer morning:
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thes 4:16-17)
Disappointment, affliction, and acute bereavement cause intractable sorrow. A wayward child etches pronounced lines on the faces of parents, Afflictions sometimes whitens the hair prematurely, while bereavement causes so many to be bowed over with grief and pain and tears.In the words of Solomon:
“By sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Proverbs 15:3)
I have been finding in my own experience how grief and sorrow do have a special ministry in our lives, if we would be open to it. I have found it impossible to understand just why sorrow comes in the ways that we usually see. But what I do know is that our sorrows and griefs can either produce bitterness or a closer walk with God. I remember when my late wife died in my arms that I just kept praying over and over “Dear God, please give me strength.” “Do not let me go.” “Renew a right spirit in me.” “Restore unto me the joy of your salvation.” For a while, I found drugs to be my path, and then it was total despair, and then there was God. Immanuel. God with me. And now, by God’s grace, it’s nothing but the blood of jesus for me.
I have personally seen how my trials have been God’s workmen by which He has removed many impurities and roughness from my character. Oh no! I am not perfect, but I am perfect for Him. Jesus wants me now, more than ever. Upon no useless material does our God bestow such careful, thorough work.
Praise God! My sorrow is tempered by the special knowledge that Jesus Himself “has borne my griefs, and carried my sorrows.” (Isa 53:4) Jesus has led me to a Godly sorrow [which] worketh repentance to salvation,” (2 Cor 7:10). And when Jesus does that it has caused me to sorrow over the loss of my loved ones, but as His Word reminds us “we sorrow not as others which have no hope.” (1 Thes 4:13) And now, praise God, I look forward to the day of days when our beleagured earth is made new, and “sorrow and siging shall flee away.”
The Old Testament prophets knew this truth well. That’s why one said
“Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.” (Isa 12:3)
Soon, and very soon, that blessed promise of our Lord and Savior
“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Mat 5:4)
That comfort is how we may get closer to Jesus. As we are told by the Apostle Paul
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (2 Cor 1:3-4)
My friends, “He who walked with the Hebrew worthies in the fiery furnace will be with His followers wherever they are. His abiding presence will comfort and sustain. In the midst of the time of trouble –trouble such as has not been since there was a nation– His chosen ones will stand unmoved. Satan with all the hosts of evil cannot destroy the weakest of God’s saints. Angels that excel in strength will protect them, and in their behalf Jehovah will reveal Himself as a “God of gods,” able to save to the uttermost those who have put their trust in Him.” {CC 252.5}
Those who have borne the greatest sorrows are frequently the ones who carry the greatest comfort to others, bringing sunshine wherever they go. Such ones have been chastened and sweetened by their afflictions; they did not lose confidence in God when trouble assailed them, but clung closer to His protecting love. Such ones are living proof of the tender care of God, who makes the darkness as well as the light and chastens us for our good. Christ is the light of the world; in Him is no darkness. Precious light! Let us live in that light! Bid adieu to sadness and repining. Rejoice in the Lord always. {AG 122.3}
It is your privilege to receive grace from Christ that will enable you to comfort others with the same comfort wherewith you yourselves are comforted of God. . . . Let each try to help the next one. Thus you may have a little heaven here below, and angels of God will work through you to make right impressions. Seek to help wherever you can. Cultivate the best dispositions that the grace of God may rest richly upon you. {AG 122.4}
In our opening text for this week’s devotional, you will see why I like to stand and watch the eagles in the mountains.
On Eagle’s Wings
‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles wings and brought you to my mountain.’ (Exodus 19:4)
mount up with wings as Eagles (Isa 40:31)
What could God possibly be trying to say here by mentioning that He “carried them on Eagle’s wings?”
When I watched this eagle pictured above in the mountains,near my place, I recall the speed, the skill, and the reliablility of the eagle’s wings to rise above the storm clouds, in his flight. He was very precise and powerful in the ways that he landed and took off. The Eagle’s flight is used here by God as a similitude of sorts to illustrate how God saves us. The speed, the surety, and the tender care with which the people of Israel were, transported from the house of bondage,is remarkable. The flight of an Eagle is truly a good way to illustrate God’s care for us.
The eagle of the Alps is sometimes beaten down by the tempest into the narrow defiles of the mountains. Storm clouds shut in this mighty bird of the forest, their dark masses separating her from the sunny heights where she has made her home. Her efforts to escape seem fruitless. She dashes to and fro, beating the air with her strong wings, and waking the mountain echoes with her cries. At length, with a note of triumph, she darts upward, and, piercing the clouds, is once more in the clear sunlight, with the darkness and tempest far beneath.
So too, we may be surrounded with difficulties, discouragement, and darkness. Falsehood, calamity, injustice, shut us in. There are clouds that we cannot dispel. We battle with circumstances in vain. There is one, and but one, way of escape. The mists and fogs cling to the earth; beyond the clouds God’s light is shining. Into the sunlight of His presence we may rise on the wings of faith. {Ed 118.2}
The flight of an eagle and how it so befittingly is expanded into a fuller detail gives us a figurative or symbolic illustration of the important work of redemption. In Deut 32:11-12) we see this illustration of the Christ’s work of redemption
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreads its wings to catch them, and carries them on its feathers, so the LORD alone led his people. No foreign god was with him. (Deut 32:11-12)
The follower of Christ must have faith abiding in the heart; for without this it is impossible to please God. Faith is the hand that takes hold of infinite help; it is the medium by which the renewed heart is made to beat in unison with the heart of Christ. {MYP 102.3}
In her endeavors to reach her home, the eagle is often beaten down by the tempest to the narrow defiles of the mountains. The clouds, in black, angry masses sweep between her and the sunny heights where she secures her nest. For a while she seems bewildered, and dashes this way and that, beating her strong wings as if to sweep back the dense clouds. She awakens the doves of the mountains with her wild cry in her vain endeavors to find a way out of her prison. At last she dashes upward into the blackness, and gives a shrill scream of triumph as she emerges, a moment later, in the calm sunshine above. The darkness and tempest are all below her, and the light of heaven is shining about her. She reaches her loved home in the lofty crag, and is satisfied. It was through darkness that she reached the light. It cost her an effort to do this, but she is rewarded in gaining the object which she sought. {MYP 102.4}
This is the only course we can pursue as followers of Christ. We must exercise that living faith, which will penetrate the clouds that, like a thick wall, separate us from heaven’s light. We have heights of faith to reach, where all is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. {MYP 103.1}
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.(John 14:27)
Is it any wonder that the Bible tells us that Jesus can “save to the uttermost, anyone that comes unto God by Him?” (Heb 7:25)
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. His truth is your shield and armor.(Psalms 91:4)
