But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. Matthew 9:34.
In Christ’s mighty works there was sufficient evidence for faith. But these people did not want truth. They could not but acknowledge the reality of the works of Christ, but they cast condemnation upon them all. They must acknowledge that supernatural power attended His work, but this power, they declared, was derived from Satan. Did they really believe this? No; but they were so determined that the truth should not affect their hearts and they be converted that they charged the work of the Spirit of God to the devil….
All-compassionate Redeemer! What love, what matchless love, was Thine! Charged by the great men of Israel with doing His works of mercy through the prince of devils, scorned and maligned, He was yet as one who saw and heard not. The work He came from heaven to do must not be left undone. He saw that truth must be unfolded to the people. The Light of the world must flash His beams into the darkness of sin and superstition and reveal error in contrast with truth….
Christ does not use force or compulsion in drawing people to Him. But while truth was being proclaimed, the hearts of those who professed to be children of God were barricaded against it, and those who had not been so highly privileged, those who were not clothed with the garment of self-righteousness, were drawn to Christ. Their minds were convinced and quickened into activity, and light and truth vibrated through the universe….
Satan endeavored to keep hidden from the world the great atoning sacrifice, which reveals the law in all its sacred dignity and impresses hearts with the force of its binding claims. He was warring against the work of Christ and united all his evil angels with human instrumentalities in opposition to that work. But while he was carrying on this work, heavenly intelligences were combining with human instrumentalities in the work of restoration….
Here are the two great powers, the power of truth and righteousness and the working of Satan to make of none effect the law of God. The human agent, magnetized by the power of Satan, works in the lines of the enemy; the Saviour employs His human instrumentalities to be laborers together with God…. Those who expect to be children of God are not to expect an easy time in this life…. We are not left alone to engage in this conflict. Jesus Christ is the Captain of our salvation.—Manuscript 61, 1899.
Christ Triumphant p. 245
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for the L family in the loss of Bob. Rose
—-I’m asking for prayers for my arm and shoulder.im in so much pain I can hardly stand it. Heather
—-Please pray for my son David who needs some special help from God right now for many needs. Louise
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Dear Friends,
When I was a little girl, I spent most of my time in a “fog.” My grandmother had never heard of allergies and thought that all of my sniffling and sneezing was because I had a cold. Whenever she heard me sneeze, she gave me cold medicine. Sometimes, my mother, not knowing that my grandmother had given me an antihistamine would give me another pill a short time later. Worse still, my aunt, who lived at home until I was five, would sometimes do the same. Of course, that made me sleepy and sluggish most of the time. It’s a wonder I survived.
The older I got, the worse my allergies became. My list of allergens continued to grow until nearly everything caused a reaction. When Ron finally got a job that offered health insurance, I was able to afford to be tested and found that I was literally allergic to everything except pigweed and poplar trees. The doctor assured me that by taking allergy shots he could cure me of my allergies. I, who have always hated shots, was actually looking forward to the four shots twice a week that he prescribed. Unfortunately, the shots caused a worse reaction each time I took them. When my joints began to ache and I began to swell, I knew that if I didn’t stop, the next set of shots might be fatal. That was very disappointing.
When I moved to Kansas a short time later, I was miserable. Everything that I was allergic to was abundant here. After only three months, I was so sick that we thought that we were going to have to move again. Then someone at church suggested that I stop using all dairy products and see if that would help. I was willing to try anything, but I knew that it would be difficult. Dairy products were a staple in my diet, but I was so miserable that I was willing to give it a try. My allergies began to lessen, but I found that if I ate anything that even had a component of milk in it, I would get an allergy attack, so I had to read labels carefully to see if casein, lactic acid, or whey was listed. Soon my allergies were so much better that I lost my desire for the food I had formerly loved.
I found that just a little bit of dairy acts as a catalyst to trigger a reaction to everything else that I am allergic to. Just so allowing just a little sin to dwell within our life effects our entire being. Toying with sin affects our judgment. Moreover, clinging to sin affects the lives of those around us. Paul tells us, “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Cor 5:6-8 Just as yeast makes the dough to rise, so the leaven of sin permeates the entire being until “the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” Isa 1:5, 6
Praise God! There is a Remedy for sin! He has promised, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” verse 18 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 John assures us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. . . . My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” 1 John 1:9-2:1
May we avoid sin even more diligently than I avoid dairy. May we “refuse the evil, and choose the good.” Isa 7:15 May we “give diligence to make [our] calling and election sure” that we may someday soon dwell with our Great Redeemer.
Rose