The life of Christ is to be carefully meditated upon, and to be constantly studied with a desire to understand the reason He had to come at all. We can form our conclusions only by searching the Scriptures as Christ has enjoined upon us to do, for He says, “They … testify of me.” We may find by searching the Word the virtues of obedience in contrast with the sinfulness of disobedience. “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

The Garden of Eden, with its foul blot of disobedience, is to be carefully studied and compared with the Garden of Gethsemane, where the world’s Redeemer suffered superhuman agony when the sins of the whole world were rolled upon Him. Listen to the prayer of the only begotten Son of God, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” And the second time He prayed saying, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

And the third time He prayed saying the same words. It was here the mysterious cup trembled in the hands of the Son of God. Shall He wipe the bloody sweat from His agonized countenance and let the human race go? The wail, wretchedness, and ruin of a lost world rolls up its horrible picture before Him.

“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”“And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” The conflict is ended; Jesus consents to honor His Father by doing His will and bearing His curse, the consequence of humanity’s transgression. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Here was what was involved in Adam’s disobedience and what the obedience of the Son of God means to us….

The happiness of human beings is in their obedience to the laws of God. In their obedience to God’s law they are surrounded as with a hedge and kept from the evil. No one can be happy and depart from God’s specified requirements, and set up a standard of their own, which they decide they can safely follow.—Manuscript 1, 1892 (Manuscript Releases 6:336-338).
Christ Triumphant p. 24
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for my coworker Cindy’s mom who is in the hospital. Wanangwa
—-My husband Blaine has stage 4 cancer. We just found this out. Asking for prayers. Marilynn
—-Please pray for Dorothy who recently lost her husband and now her brother-in-law died Monday. She is having problems with legal issues regarding probate. Please pray for all of the family in these two losses. Rose
—- Today, Jan. 18th, my husband Dan is having surgery for bladder cancer. We won’t know the extent until after the surgery and the pathology report! Any prayers will be most appreciated! Franci
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Dear Friends,

In Colonial America, doors were locked on the inside by a wooden bar that dropped into a metal or wooden slot on the door jamb. A piece of string was attached to one end of the bar and threaded through a small hole to the outside. A dangling string meant that visitors were welcome, since pulling on it raised the bolt so the door could be opened. The people in those olden times had an expression of hospitality, “the latch string is always out” meaning that the person was always welcome in their home. Thinking of this old custom, my great-great aunt, Aletha Phillips-Spoor, wrote the poem “Where the Latchstring’s Always Out.” I thought I would share it with you today.

The sun is sinking low in the west,

‘Tis the hour of meditation and rest,

Now is the time at the close of day

To return in thought from far away’

And to know that our folks, though far we may roam,

Are thinking of us in the dear old home,

Where the latchstring’s always out.

We may think some other place the best

Away out there in the golden west,

Or far away in a southern clime

Where for months we’ve had a wonderful time;

But after all we’re glad to give

A thought to the folks where we used to live,

Where the latchstring’s always out.

There’s where we’re free from every care,

There’s where we feel that we have a share

Of the blessings that only a home can bring,

There where the walls of laughter ring;

And we do again as we used to do

Back in the home where hearts are true,

Where the latchstring’s always out.

We, too, have a home where the latchstring’s always out. We, too, have a place where we are always welcome to come. Indeed, our Heavenly Father is yearning for a visit from us. How He longs to hear our prayers. He pleads, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jer 33:3 How He desires our sweetest thoughts to be of Him and of our Heavenly home. Jesus speaks of this home He wants to share with us. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3

Yet how seldom we think of that good land where “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Cor 2:9 How few prayers ascend to our Father in Heaven Who loves us so much “that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

How it must break His Great Heart of Love.

May we, like David, declare, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” Ps 55:17 May we meditate upon all His marvelous works and talk of all His doings. 77:12 May we train our minds to focus on that Good Land our Saviour is preparing for us that someday we will visit with our Great Creator face to face.

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/value-in-comparing-eden-and-gethsemane.html

In order to accomplish his work unperceived, Satan chose to employ as his medium the serpent—a disguise well adapted for his purpose of deception. The serpent was then one of the wisest and most beautiful creatures on the earth. It had wings, and while flying through the air presented an appearance of dazzling brightness, having the color and brilliancy of burnished gold. Resting in the rich-laden branches of the forbidden tree and regaling itself with the delicious fruit, it was an object to arrest the attention and delight the eye of the beholder. Thus in the garden of peace lurked the destroyer, watching for his prey.

The angels had cautioned Eve to beware of separating herself from her husband while occupied in their daily labor in the garden; with him she would be in less danger from temptation than if she were alone. But absorbed in her pleasing task, she unconsciously wandered from his side. On perceiving that she was alone, she felt an apprehension of danger, but dismissed her fears, deciding that she had sufficient wisdom and strength to discern evil and to withstand it. Unmindful of the angels’ caution, she soon found herself gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the forbidden tree. The fruit was very beautiful, and she questioned with herself why God had withheld it from them.

Now was the tempter’s opportunity. As if he were able to discern the workings of her mind, he addressed her: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Eve was surprised and startled as she thus seemed to hear the echo of her thoughts…. To the tempter’s ensnaring question she replied: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” …

Such has been Satan’s work from the days of Adam to the present, and he has pursued it with great success. He tempts people to distrust God’s love and to doubt His wisdom. He is constantly seeking to excite a spirit of irreverent curiosity, a restless, inquisitive desire to penetrate the secrets of divine wisdom and power. In their efforts to search out what God has been pleased to withhold, multitudes overlook the truths that He has revealed, and that are essential to salvation.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 53-55.
Christ Triumphant p. 21
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for E and children as they are away from home on a trip. R
—-Prayer please for my daughter and her son. Too much to go into, but prayers are urgently needed. Janet
—-Just heard of a group of tornadoes back east. Massive destruction and loss of life. One child was killed when a tree fell on his parent’s car. Please pray for all who have lost everything including loved ones. BP
—-I have several prayer requests. Prayers for my friend Pam. Her mom fell in the grocery store at check out and broke her femur. She’s in her 70s and in rehab. She is missing some things, which happens in situations like that. Prayers for a quick recovery and that her items turn up again.
My family is in a situation where we will likely be moving again in a few months (between June and August), and NO IDEA where God will send us. Prayers for the new location and that we have a peace about it…. We just want to go where HE is leading.
Prayers for Jaclyn. She had another seizure in her sleep. It’s really got her down, and she’s afraid to sleep as she has them only in her sleep. This time, they said she was turning blue, so she’s thinking she is not breathing in her sleep and becoming hypoxic. She has another sleep study coming up soon, we hope. But she has a LOT of fear about all this and THAT is not coming from Jesus. She needs that peace that passes understanding and the doctors need guidance to help her with treatment or just a touch of healing from the Lord. She did not have seizures until she had her son, and that involved high blood pressure and a stroke. These puzzle pieces have to fit somehow, but no one can seem to put it together. But Jesus is ultimately the solution and her healer. Jennifer
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Dear Friends,

Some years ago, there was a strange and senseless murder in our city. A minister’s son stopped at a gas station after a basketball game. As he got out of his car to go inside, a member of one of the gangs in the city, pulled out a gun and shot him. Later the gang member said that he killed him because he didn’t like the way the young man looked at him. That was all. He just didn’t like the look on his face! Sadly, these things happen every day. How cruel is the heart of mankind without the Spirit of God dwelling there. Those who have long ago, shut God out of their lives become capable of atrocities that are beyond comprehension. Before giving themselves over to the evil one, they would, no doubt, have been horrified had they seen what they would do in the future.

Just so, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, how little they realized the results of their disobedience. Had they known, they would have recoiled in horror at the results of that small act of disobedience. From that small act, came a great change upon all the world. Before the fall, Adam and Eve had good fellowship with their Creator. At the time for evening worship, He came to this small planet in His great universe and conversed with them face to face. But after their disobedience, hearing Him walking in the garden brought a feeling of fear and dread instead of the joy they had formerly felt. God’s Word tells us, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Gen 3:8-11

God knew what they had done, but He wanted them to acknowledge their transgression and ask forgiveness. Instead, Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent, and, ultimately, they both blamed God. “And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” vs 12-14 How good and kind our Loving Father is! Before He told His erring children of the consequences of their sin, He gave them the promise of a Saviour! “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” vs 3:15

“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. vs 16-19 From that point, death, sorrow, pain, and heartache began. How Adam and Eve must have grieved as they saw the first leaf fall from the trees. Sorrow upon sorrow reached its culmination when their firstborn slew his brother. (Gen 4:1-12)

God does not leave us in such a pitiful state. He has provided Jesus, the “way, the truth, and the life” to bring us back into the family of heaven. John 14:6 Someday soon, this sinful, old world will pass away. Sin and sinners will be no more. John speaks of this time, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Rev 21:1-4; 22:14 May we all be there is my prayer.
Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/temptation-sometimes-disguised-as-pleasure.html

The sin of Lucifer is unexplainable. He was disloyal to God. His mourning and complaining aroused sympathy among the angelic hosts, and many took the same position as did Satan [Lucifer]. How did the Lord break the force of these accusations?

Because of Satan’s accusing power, it was not the plan of God to deal with him as he deserved. The tempter would throw all the blame of his course upon others who were below him. He would make it appear that if he could have moved according to his own judgment all this demonstration of rebellion would have been avoided.

The condemning power of Satan would lead him to institute a theory of justice inconsistent with mercy. He claims to be officiating as the voice and power of God, claims that his decisions are justice, are pure and without fault. Thus he takes his position on the judgment seat and declares that his counsels are infallible. Here his merciless justice comes in, a counterfeit of justice, abhorrent to God.

But how shall the universe know that Lucifer is not a safe and just leader? To their eyes he appears right. They cannot see, as God sees, beneath the outward covering. They cannot know as God knows. To work to unmask him and make plain to the angelic host that his judgment is not God’s judgment, that he has made a standard of his own and exposed himself to the righteous indignation of God, would create a state of things that must be avoided.

It was on account of Satan’s deceiving power that many angels became disloyal to God. God was true and right. Satan was wrong and he was convinced that he was wrong. He must now choose, either by submission to place himself on the Lord’s side, or by lying to sustain himself. By sophistry and fraud he appeared to gain an advantage, but it was only for a short time. God cannot lie; He moves in a direct line. Lucifer could speak the truth when it served his purpose best, but he could move in a crooked course to avoid humiliation and defeat….

Satan could not be presented to the universe at once in his real character. His crooked course must be allowed to continue until he should reveal himself as an accuser, a deceiver, a liar, and a murderer. In the latter act, Satan uprooted himself from the affection of the loyal universe. In the death of the Son of God the deceiver was unmasked.—Letter 16a, 1892.
Christ Triumphant p. 11
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Prayer Requests
—-Emergency prayer request. just got a call from Calic. asking for prayer for a young man who is in ICU he had a heart attack and the family is devastated. Mary
—-Please pray for baby whose intestines outside of his body and hydrocephalus and will be born in a week or so. Please pray for God’s will to be done. Rose
—-Please pray for my cousin who had a stroke and a heart attack. Please also pray for Trish who is recuperating from a serious condition. D
—-Please continue to pray for E and children. R
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Dear Friends,

One of my favorite rainy-day past times as a child was looking at my grandmother’s photo albums. On one such occasion, I saw an old lady I had not noticed before. She was a thin woman with her white hair pulled back in a bun. Her face had no wrinkles, but there was a sadness about her that could not be hidden in that photo taken so long ago.

When I asked my grandmother, she told me that it was her Aunt Alice. Alice had been a happy girl, who was full of life and joy. She met a good-looking young man, and after a proper courtship, they became engaged. They loved each other deeply and finally the wedding day arrived. Alice was even more joyful than normal. That day she had anticipated as the happiest day of her life had finally arrived!

The church was decorated with flowers and filled with guests all waiting in eager anticipation to see this lovely young couple unite their lives. She wore a beautiful white wedding gown of lace. Her hair was combed in a lovely style specially to please the man she loved so deeply. The minister and the wedding attendants were there. All was ready.

Horrified, the best man ran back to the church. Shouting loudly and with tears in his eyes, he poured out his devastating news. Alice couldn’t believe it. She picked up the long skirt of her bridal gown and ran to the scene. There she saw the one she loved lying in the road—dead. Alice never recovered from that shock. She was never the same again. She became quiet and withdrawn and mourned for that young man for the rest of her life.

As I listened to the story, I felt like crying. Yet there is a tragedy much worse than this story—a disappointment far greater that happens every day without our even thinking about it. All around us are those who are spending their life with barely a thought heavenward. Jesus is coming soon and there will be multitudes unready to meet Him. With a sorrow far worse than Aunt Alice’s, they will cry out, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Jer 8:20 What dreadful words! Words spoken by some who knew Jesus was coming, but who did not make the heart preparation necessary. They seemed ready on the outside but were careless and indifferent and thought that a “head knowledge” of the truths of God’s Word was enough.

Jesus told a parable that illustrates this point. “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matt 25:1-13 All those virgins believed that the Bridegroom was coming, but only half of them made the needed preparation.

May we “work out (our) own salvation with fear and trembling that we will not be found “standing at the altar.” Phil 2:12 May we “give diligence to make (our) calling and election sure” 2 Peter 1:10 May we live so close to God each day, allowing Him to change us into His image, that when He comes we will look up and say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isa 25:9

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/no-excuse-for-sin.html