The apostle says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” James 5:16. Confess your sins to God, who only can forgive them, and your faults to one another. If you have given offense to your friend or neighbor, you are to acknowledge your wrong, and it is his duty freely to forgive you. Then you are to seek the forgiveness of God, because the brother you have wounded is the property of God, and in injuring him you have sinned against his Creator….

True confession is always of a specific character, and acknowledges particular sins. They may be of such a nature as to be brought before God only; they may be wrongs that should be confessed to individuals who have suffered injury through them; or they may be of a public character, and should then be as publicly confessed. But all confession should be definite and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which you are guilty.5Steps to Christ, 37, 38.

Many, many confessions should never be spoken in the hearing of mortals; for the result is that which the limited judgment of finite beings does not anticipate…. God will be better glorified if we confess the secret, inbred corruption of the heart to Jesus alone than if we open its recesses to finite, erring man, who cannot judge righteously unless his heart is constantly imbued with the Spirit of God…. Do not pour into human ears the story which God alone should hear.6Testimonies for the Church 5:645.

The confession that is the outpouring of the inmost soul finds its way to the God of infinite pity.7Steps to Christ, 38.

Your sins may be as mountains before you; but if you humble your heart, and confess your sins, trusting in the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, He will forgive, and will cleanse you from all unrighteousness…. Desire the fullness of the grace of Christ. Let your heart be filled with an intense longing for His righteousness.8The Acts of the Apostles, 566.
The Faith I Live By p. 128
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Prayer Requests
—-I have an important unspoken prayer request. Buck
—-Please pray for a friend whose daughter died last night and that whatever is causing my right knee to lock up is completely healed. Mimi
—-Please pray, I’m having to take dialysis soon and I’m scared. Dean
—-my friend’s brother has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer his name is Kevin please keep him in your prayers. Cora
—-Please pray for our dog Moose.
—-Please pray for Jayne who is in the hospital. Brooks
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Dear Friends,

From the age of 10, my grandfather spent very little time at home. He had decided that living the life of a hobo was preferable to a home with an abusive father. He would come home periodically, however, as he loved his dear mother and wanted her to know that he was all right. The rest of the time, he lived off what fish he could catch and wild edibles. He often traveled up and down the east coast of the USA by riding on a train, not as a paying passenger, but hidden away in a boxcar. He met many interesting characters who taught him ways of survival that he needed to know.

Riding the rails was a very dangerous way to travel even in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. One day, the railroad company hired a man to catch all the hobos who were riding for free. This man was large and looked very tough and all the men who road the rails were afraid of him. This man’s reputation grew and grew with the telling. By this time my grandfather was a tough teenager, who had learned things the hard way. He had faced many dangers and felt well able to take care of himself. He had heard all the stories about this security guard. He hoped that he would never meet him.

One day, he decided to catch a ride on the train. He sneaked into the railway yard and grabbed the ladder that was at the end of a boxcar as the train went slowly by. He hoped that he was not seen, but the security guard he had spotted him. This security guard had captured many other men who had ridden without paying and he was sure that he would catch my grandfather also. Grabbing the ladder on a nearby boxcar, the man climbed up and onto the boxcar’s top.

As Grandpa peeked over the top of the boxcar to see if he could find a better place to ride, he saw the guard coming his way. Immediately he ducked down hoping that he had not been seen. In the several minutes he had before the man got to him, he had a decision to make. The train was going faster now and my grandfather decided that it was going too fast for him to jump off or be thrown off.

He decided that he must either fight the guard or bluff him. He chose the latter. Climbing up the ladder when he was sure the guard was right there, he sprung up onto the top of the boxcar right in front of the guard. Looking his meanest, he faced this huge strongman. The guard told him that he was going to throw him off the train. Although my grandfather was scared, he did not let it show. He told the man, in his meanest voice, that he had a gun and would blow his head off if he tried it. That big security guard showed that he was a coward at heart. Even though that guard did not see a gun, he was afraid at the mere mention of the word. He backed down and left my grandfather alone. Grandpa was greatly relieved as he knew that he was no match for that huge man.

How often, we are like that guard. We profess to be a Christian, but it is all a show. Inside we are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Rev 3:17 Isaiah strips away all of the pretense, saying, “we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” “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 64:6; 1:5, 6

Our Dear Saviour declared to the Pharisees of old, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Matt 23:25-28

No matter what we profess, it is worthless without the love of God dwelling within. Jesus tells us, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt 7:21-23

How important it is to have that cleansing that only Jesus can give. He bids us, “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 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.” Isa 1:16-18 If we truly experience this cleansing, we will not be “all show” like that security guard. We will truly become a new creature. (2 Cor 5:17) We will have a new heart, new thoughts, new likes, new dislikes. Profession does no good without a change of heart. We cannot give it to ourselves. It comes from the Great Re-Creator Who promises, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. Eze 36:26,27

May we go beyond a mere outward appearance of religion and be true-hearted Christians is my prayer.

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/sincere-confession-essential-2.html

It is not essential to the exercise of faith that the feelings should be wrought up to a high pitch of excitement; neither is it necessary, in order to gain the hearing of the Lord, that our petitions should be noisy, or attended with physical exercise.

It is true that Satan frequently creates in the heart of the suppliant such a conflict with doubt and temptation that strong cries and tears are involuntarily forced from him; and it is also true that the penitent’s sense of guilt is sometimes so great that a repentance commensurate with his sin causes him to experience an agony that finds vent in cries and groans, which the compassionate Saviour hears with pity. But Jesus does not fail to answer the silent prayer of faith. He who simply takes God at His word, and reaches out to connect himself with the Saviour, will receive His blessing in return.100The Signs of the Times, May 31, 1877 (The Spirit of Prophecy 2:321, 322).

Faith is not feeling…. True faith is in no sense allied to presumption. Only he who has true faith is secure against presumption, for presumption is Satan’s counterfeit of faith.

Faith claims God’s promises, and brings forth fruit in obedience. Presumption also claims the promises, but uses them as Satan did, to excuse transgression. Faith would have led our first parents to trust the love of God and to obey His commands. Presumption led them to transgress His law, believing that His great love would save them from the consequences of their sin. It is not faith that claims the favor of Heaven without complying with the conditions on which mercy is to be granted. Genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of the Scriptures.101Gospel Workers, 260.

To abide in faith is to put aside feeling and selfish desires, to walk humbly with the Lord, to appropriate His promises, and apply them to all occasions, believing that God will work out His own plans and purposes in your heart and life.102Fundamentals of Christian Education, 341, 342.
The Faith I Live By p. 122
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Charlie who recently broke his hip. Pray also for Susan who is needing surgery for a paraoesophageal hernia. Rose
—-My late son’s mother in law has a nephew named David who is 17. He had a mishap on a trampoline and injured his C-6 vertebrae (neck). He came through over 12 hours of surgery okay. He is said to be in good spirits, but still serious condition. He has some feeling in his upper body, but so far none in his lower body. Doctors think he may never walk again. Please keep him and family in prayers. Aleta
—-Sarah got an accident through sleep walking , she walked straight to the road in a sleep and the car hit her. After a week of her getting an accident through, her husband introduced another wife claiming he can’t wait for this one to heal in order to make love thus abandoning her. One Adventist lady tries to take food to her sometimes and puts a stone and two sticks to hold the bones. She needs prayer and God’s help. John
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Dear Friends,

When I was a teenager, I lived about a mile or two from the library. I had a book that was due that day, that I had not quite finished reading. I decided that if I read the book as I walked, I would have it done by the time I got there. It took a few blocks before I could walk in a fairly straight line without watching where I was going.

Soon I became so absorbed in those last few chapters, that I was lost to my surroundings. Suddenly, I heard the squeal of brakes. Startled, I looked up from the book I was reading. Within a foot of me was a big, black car. The driver inside looked scared at first then angry. All I could say was “I’m sorry.” Closing my book, I continued walking. I would wait until I got to the library to finish it.

So, it is in our day-to-day lives. Life is a mad rush to acquire the latest gadgets to make our life happier, but those things leave us empty. We can even get so occupied with the mundane duties of life, that time passes quickly and old age is upon us. We look back and wonder where the time has gone. Truly life is as James tells us. “For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14 It seems like only yesterday that we were young and full of hopes and dreams for the future. How we wish we had at the beginning asked ourselves the question, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36

May we heed the advice of Isaiah, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isa 55:6, 7

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/what-is-faith-2.html

The part man has to act in the salvation of the soul is to believe on Jesus Christ as a perfect Redeemer, not for some other man, but for his own self.67Manuscript 1a, 1890.

Christ imputes His perfection and righteousness to the believing sinner when he does not continue in sin, but turns from transgression to obedience of the commandments.68The Review and Herald, May 23, 1899.

While God can be just, and yet justify the sinner through the merits of Christ, no man can cover his soul with the garments of Christ’s righteousness while practicing known sins, or neglecting known duties.69The Review and Herald, November 4, 1890.

The apostle James saw that dangers would arise in presenting the subject of justification by faith, and he labored to show that genuine faith cannot exist without corresponding works. The experience of Abraham is presented. “Seest thou,” he says, “how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” James 2:22. Thus genuine faith does a genuine work in the believer. Faith and obedience bring a solid, valuable experience.70SDA Bible Commentary 7:936.

Faith and works are two oars which we must use equally if we [would] press our way up the stream against the current of unbelief.71Welfare Ministry, 316.

The so-called faith that does not work by love and purify the soul will not justify any man. “Ye see,” says the apostle, “how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” James 2:24. Abraham believed God. How do we know that he believed? His works testified to the character of his faith, and his faith was accounted to him for righteousness. We need the faith of Abraham in our day, to lighten the darkness that gathers around us, shutting out the sweet sunlight of God’s love, and dwarfing spiritual growth. Our faith should be prolific of good works; for faith without works is dead.72The Signs of the Times, May 19, 1898.
The Faith I Live By p. 115
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Prayer Requests
—-Need prayer for a guy named Ron who recently had open heart surgery tomorrow Monday I got a call from his aunt also another woman needs prayer but she couldnt remember her name. Mary
—-Please pray for Ron’s baby sister Rhonda whose husband had a massive stroke Thursday. They are taking him off life support today. Pray also for his sister Cindy as she travels to be with her. Rose
—-Please pray for Dagmar and her husband who recently had a heart attack. Also please pray for an elderly woman SDA who desperately needs help. Her washing machine broke down and she has water everywhere and no one to help her. Mary
—-My brother-in-law is scheduled for a heart transplant tomorrow. Please pray for him and for Ed. It’s Ed’s little brother. Carol
—-Please pray for our pastor. He had oral surgery and in the process the dentist knocked out his front tooth. Pray for freedom from pain and that it can be fixed soon. Pray also for his mother-in-law who also had oral surgery and is in a lot of pain. Rose
—-Please pray for my hearing aids. They somehow went haywire and I’m 2/3ds deaf without them. I can’t see my audiologist until the end of the month, or in May. Sylvia
—-Please pray for Marvin who has cancer and is not doing well at all. Rose
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Dear Friends,

After my grandfather and his brother were grown, my great-grandmother was very lonely. Somehow, she talked her husband into adopting a child. They chose a little girl named Margaret. She gave my great-grandmother some comfort from her difficult life. Sadly, this little girl lived only until she was about thirteen.

Without the antibiotics that we have today, many diseases in those far off days were fatal. Lacking an understanding of viruses and bacteria, the common people had many theories as to how these diseases were contracted. The people theorized that the diphtheria germ floated in the air until stuck to the rooftops. This seemed to make sense to them, because it seemed that when the snow and ice that covered the roof began to melt and form icicles, children would get this illness. They decided that the germs were in the icicles. Parents warned their children never to eat them and explained that if they did, they would get very sick and die.

Despite the warnings, Margaret decided to break off one of those dripping icicles and suck on it. Her throat felt dry and the forbidden icicle’s coldness felt soothing. She wondered why she had not tried it before. Shortly after this she got diphtheria and died. Everyone believed it was because of that icicle.

Every winter, when I was a little girl, my grandfather often showed me a picture of Margaret in her casket and warn me never to eat or even take one, small lick of an icicle no matter how good it looked. No doubt Margaret contracted diphtheria in a completely different way, but my grandfather believed that old theory all of his life. He loved me and was always so afraid that something would happen to me. So he gave me warning after warning.

Just as the people of long ago had some strange ideas about how diseases were spread, so there are many different theories about what is truth. Our Great Creator placed deep within each of us is the desire to know the truth. Yet, the evil one has placed counterfeits in the path in order to keep us from the very truth that we need. Some people declare that in order to be saved, we must make difficult pilgrimages to various shrines or holy places. Some say that in order to be saved, we must perform certain rites and ceremonies. Some believe that if they exactly follow the ten commandments, they can earn their way to salvation. Others believe that whatever their minister says is the truth and their idea of truth fluctuates according to whatever pastor they happen to have. Still others believe that all we have to do is believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and live as we please.

What is truth? How can we know the way? Solomon warns, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Prov 14:12 Our Dear Saviour tells us, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Matt 7:13,14; Luke 13:24 Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.” John 17:17 God’s Holy Word is “and lamp unto (our) feet and a light unto (our) path.” Ps 119:105 Jesus declares, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

Only through the study of God’s Holy Word can we find the truth. “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.” “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. . . cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Ps 119:160; 19:7-14

Peter, as he was writing to the believers also assures us of this fact. He tells of his experience on the mount of transfiguration and then he makes the point that more important than what we see, more sure than what we hear, is the Word of God. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:19-21 Isaiah was moved to write, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa 8:20 Here is the key. Everything we hear, everything we read must be tested by a “Thus saith the Lord.”

Why is a study of the Scriptures so important? From Genesis to Revelation they reveal the Way, the Truth, and the Life, “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” John 14:6; Gal 1:4,5 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” 1John 3:1 “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 Praise God! The Only Begotten Son of God left all of the glories of Heaven, all the worship of beings unfallen, all the adoration of the angels, and came to this dark and miserable planet to suffer and die the cruelest of deaths; that He might “redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:14 “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Rom 6:15,16; 1 Cor 6:19,20

Where do works fit in? James explains their importance for a balanced Christian life. “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.” James 2:14-18

Therefore, let us “study to show [ourselves] approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15 May we “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in [us] both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Phil 2:12,13

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/faith-demonstrated-by-works-2.html