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

How beautiful the earth was when it came from the Creator’s hand! God presented before the universe a world in which even His all-seeing eye could find no spot or stain, no defect or crookedness. Each part of His creation occupied the place assigned it and answered the purpose for which it was created. Like the parts of some great machine, part fitted to part, and all was in perfect harmony…. There was no disease … and the vegetable kingdom was without taint of corruption. God looked upon the work of His hands wrought out by Christ and pronounced it “very good.” He looked upon a perfect world, in which there was no trace of sin, no imperfection.

But a change came. Satan tempted Adam, and he fell. He who in heaven had become disloyal and had been cast out made lying reports of God to the beings He had created, and they listened to his reports and believed his lie. And sin entered the world, and death by sin.—Letter 23, 1903 (see also The Review and Herald, July 21, 1904).

When Christ saw that there was no human being able to be humanity’s intercessor, He Himself entered the fierce conflict and battled with Satan. The First Begotten of God was the only one who could liberate those who by Adam’s sin had been brought in subjection to Satan.

The Son of God gave Satan every opportunity to try all his arts upon Him. The enemy had tempted the angels in heaven, and afterward the first Adam. Adam fell, and Satan supposed he could succeed in ensnaring Christ after He assumed humanity. All the fallen host looked upon this engagement as an opportunity to gain the supremacy over Christ. They had longed for a chance to show their enmity against God. When the lips of Christ were sealed in death, Satan and his angels imagined that they had obtained the victory….

In the death struggle the Son of God could rely only upon His heavenly Father. All was by faith. He Himself was a ransom, a gift, given for the freeing of the captives. By His own arm He has brought salvation to humanity; but at what a cost to Himself!—Manuscript 125, 1901 (The Upward Look, 357).
Christ Triumphant p. 8
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Prayer Requests
—-I have some relatives who are struggling and need your prayers. Buck
—-Please pray for my son Josh. May his pain turn into a need for you. My heart is breaking for him! Louisw
—- Asking for prayer for the mother of four of my grandchildren. Her name is Ana. She is deep into the occult. She has threatened to have me killed many times. She has also made plans to kill two of my sons. My son went over there on Xmas day to see his kids. There was an argument and as my son was walking out of her house holding some of his belongings, she hit him in the back of his head with a hammer. I cannot turn her in. She seems to be able to find out the names of anyone who turns her in to any agency and then they are doomed to her revenge. She really needs prayer. Put her on the prayer group and my grandchildren and son also. Thank you very much. She told me that if I had her prosecuted it would be one of the last things I would ever do. So, I didn’t follow through with going to court against her. I believe it was true. CC
—-E and children need prayer and God’s guidance. R
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Dear Friends,

When I talked with Esther on the phone some years ago when she was still in college, I knew something was upsetting her. After a few pointed questions, she told me that the first story in her literature book was making God out to be worse than the heathen deities and made them heroes. It sickened her to read such blasphemy. She prayed for wisdom to know what to do. She decided to drop the class and take another one which would still meet the requirement. One other student did the same.

Whether our problem is a small one or an overwhelmingly large one, God invites us, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee” Jer 33:3 Jesus assures us, “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” Luke 17:6 He says, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” John 14:14 I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them t hat ask him?” Luke 11:9-13

James gives another dimension to our prayer being answered, “let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” James 1:6, 7 John explains, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” 1 John 5:14 Think of it! The Great Creator of the Universe is willing to answer our prayer of faith!

May we come to God, knowing that He loves us with an “everlasting love.” Jer 31:3 May we fulfill the conditions to answered prayer, that God, Who longs to give us that which we ask, may work mightily for us. May we remember to praise God when He answers our petitions is my prayer.

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/the-new-creation.html

We can overcome. Yes; fully, entirely. Jesus died to make a way of escape for us, that we might overcome every fault, resist every temptation, and sit down at last with Him in His throne.

It is our privilege to have faith and salvation. The power of God has not decreased. It would be just as freely bestowed now as formerly; but the church have lost their faith to claim, their energy to wrestle, as did Jacob, crying, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me” (Genesis 32:26). Enduring faith has been dying away. It must be revived in the hearts of God’s people. They must claim the blessing. Faith, living faith, always leads upward to God and glory; unbelief, downward to darkness and death.

Many are so absorbed in their worldly cares and perplexities that they have little time to pray, and feel but little interest in prayer. They may observe the form of worship, but the spirit of true supplication is lacking. Such have departed widely from the Pattern. Jesus our example was much in prayer; and oh, how earnest, how fervent were His petitions! If He, the beloved Son of God, was moved to such earnestness, such agony, in our behalf, how much more need that we, who are dependent upon Heaven for all our strength, have our whole souls stirred to wrestle with God.

We should not be satisfied until every known sin is confessed, then it is our privilege and duty to believe that God accepts us. We must not wait for others to press through the darkness and obtain the victory for us to enjoy. Such enjoyment will not be lasting. God must be served from principle instead of from feeling. Morning and evening we should obtain the victory for ourselves, in our own families. Our daily labor should not keep us from this. We must take time to pray, and as we pray, believe that God hears us. We may not at all times feel the immediate answer, but then it is that faith is tried. We are proved to see whether we will trust in God, whether we have living, abiding faith.—The Review and Herald, September 4, 1883.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 367
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Prayer Requests
—-Please keep E and children in prayer. R
—-Need prayers for my granddaughter Destiny. She was involved in a accident today, she was t-boned and taken to the hospital. Please pray for a swift recovery and for her needs to be met. We have no idea yet how she is doing as we are waiting for the evaluation. BP
—-Requesting prayers for my Director, Bernice this Tuesday as she goes to surgery! Please keep her in your prayers that God will guide the hands of the surgeon and comfort her! S
—-Steve finally got to the Dr today. She went over some issues with his diabetes. She is ordering labs for his weight loss. Shes screening for colon and pancreatic cancers. Could you pray for him. I know he’s worried about it. So am i. He goes back in 4 weeks to get results. Please pray everything is ok. Heather
—-Please pray for Richard who has cancer and his wife Sarah who is caring for him. Pray for complete healing. Rose
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Dear Friends,

What a time of wonder Christmastime was for me when I was a child. We always had a huge tree that would reach nearly to the ceiling and my grandparents lived in a house with very tall ceilings! I always went with my mother when she would pick out the tree. She would spend a lot of time looking for a perfectly shaped one. She was an artist and only a perfectly proportioned tree would suit her. Then we would drag it home through the snow.

When the ornaments were brought from the attic, where they had been stored all year, I would admire each one. I was not allowed to touch them as they were very old, but I would stand there and look. I spent hours studying each item that had been placed on that tree. They do not make Christmas decorations like those anymore. There were glass bells painted with scrollwork of various colors, balls glitter painted with many designs, delicate ornaments shaped like birds, candles, streetlights, icicles, and snowflakes. My mother would carefully arrange them all until the tree became a work of art under her artistic hand.

As I think of the delight I had looking at those Christmas ornaments, I think of the delight we should get reading God’s Holy Word. Think of it! We have in our hands a letter from the Creator of the Universe! He has put everything in its pages that we need to know in order to obtain salvation. “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deut 29:29 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” 1 Cor 15:1,2 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15

Jesus tells us, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39 From the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation the love of God is revealed. We read of the One Who was willing to give “his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 We learn of a Saviour “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Phil 2:6-8

As we read God’s Word over and over again, we discover new things that we had not noticed before. Truths that were always there, but the Holy Spirit waits until we are ready to receive them before He drives them home to our mind. We experience the truth of the parable Jesus taught, “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” Matt 13:52 The Bible is God’s voice speaking of His love and care for us! What joy we have as the Holy Spirit instructs us in the way of the Lord!

May we take even greater delight over each discovery He reveals to us in His Holy Word than I did over those Christmas ornaments of long ago.

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/a-seat-upon-his-throne.html