You are accepted in the Beloved. I have had the most earnest desire that you should perfect a Christian character, not in your own strength, but in the strength and in the virtue and righteousness of Christ. The donation of the Holy Spirit was the greatest gift God could bestow upon finite man. This is free to all and in this gift there could be no computation; this endowment specially signalized the enthronement of the only begotten Son of God in His mediatorial kingdom. In this, the gift of the Comforter, the Lord God of heaven demonstrates to man the perfect reconciliation which He had effected between Himself and men. “Which hope,” says the apostle, “we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil, whither the forerunner is for us entered” (Hebrews 6:19, 20).

Has not God said He would give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? And is not this Spirit a real, true, actual Guide? Some men seem afraid to take God at His word, as though it would be presumption in them. They pray for the Lord to teach us and yet are afraid to credit the pledged word of God and believe we have been taught of Him. So long as we come to our heavenly Father humbly and with a spirit to be taught, willing and anxious to learn, why should we doubt God’s fulfillment of His own promise? You must not for a moment doubt Him and dishonor Him thereby.

When you have sought to know His will, your part in the operation with God is to believe that you will be led and guided and blessed in the doing of His will. We may mistrust ourselves lest we misinterpret His teachings, but make even this a subject of prayer, and trust Him, still trust Him to the uttermost, that His Holy Spirit will lead you to interpret aright His plans and the working of His providence.—Manuscript Releases 6:223, 224.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 114
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Prayer Requests
—-Please Pray for a very dear friend of ours she is a newly widow and she is taking it very hard. we fear for her life please pray that she will discover the real Jesus and not the surface one. she has a heart of Gold always helping others . Cecelia
—-E and children continue to need your prayers. R
—-Please pray for me and my sons. We are in extreme danger. Connie
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Dear Friends,
In my grandparents’ yard was a very old and neglected apple tree. The apples were small and not good for eating. I can still remember the smell of those rotting apples as they fell and lay untouched below the tree. Because of its age, unusually large size, and the neglect it suffered; it was hollow inside. To look at it, you would never know that is was hollow. It was still alive with green leaves and was still producing small, sour, wormy fruit.
Often I would gaze at that tree and think about the many warnings of my grandparents to stay away from it. I especially liked a story that my mother had once told me about that old tree. Before I was born, she had been standing under that tree talking to my dad. Suddenly, he grabbed her roughly and held her tightly while running down the driveway a little way. She was quite upset with him and about to get angry, when he stopped and pointed toward where she had been standing. As my mother looked, she saw a large part of that apple tree had split and had come crashing down right where she had been standing. He explained that as they had been talking, he had heard a cracking noise. Instantly he knew what it was. He knew that she was in danger and reacted quickly. Her anger was replaced by gratitude.
Even though that ancient apple tree could have split again, my grandparents never asked the landlady to cut it down. They just warned me never to play under the tree. The warnings only made the tree more fascinating, more desireable.
How often we have old, rotten “apple trees” in our lives. We fear them but allow them to take root and grow in our heart even though they should have been gotten rid of years ago. They produce rotten, wormy fruit in our lives that does us no good. That fruit of sin leads to disappointment and death. Often, we wish we had the victory over that sin that is so deeply ingrained within us, but we have allowed that old, familiar sin to remain inside our hearts so long that it has grown large and difficult to deal with.
How often we try the pleasures of this world to forget that they soon become a rotten “apple tree” of sin. Paul speaks of the fruit of a heart that has been allowed the heart to become overtaken by the wormy fruit of unrighteousness.” Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Gal 5:19-21 Jeremiah adds, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” He, then, gives the answer, “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jer 17:9,10
How much we need the Master Gardener to cut down that “rotten tree” that is ever growing within us and producing fruit to our destruction. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” James 4:6-10 “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” “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 57:15; 1:16-18
Let us come to our Dear Saviour that He may help us to cut down the old, “rotten apple tree” that we have allowed to grow within our heart for so many years, that we may be free from the fruit of iniquity that we have produced for so long.
Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/believing-in-his-guidance.html

Many a portion of Scripture which learned men pronounce a mystery, or pass over as unimportant, is full of comfort and instruction to him who has been taught in the school of Christ. One reason why many theologians have no clearer understanding of God’s Word is [that] they close their eyes to truths which they do not wish to practice. An understanding of Bible truth depends not so much on the power of intellect brought to the search as on the singleness of purpose, the earnest longing after righteousness.

The Bible should never be studied without prayer. The Holy Spirit alone can cause us to feel the importance of those things easy to be understood, or prevent us from wresting truths difficult of comprehension. It is the office of heavenly angels to prepare the heart so to comprehend God’s Word that we shall be charmed with its beauty, admonished by its warnings, or animated and strengthened by its promises. We should make the psalmist’s petition our own: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”

Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons. But angels are round about those who are willing to be taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed. Thus “when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19).

Jesus promised His disciples: “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). But the teachings of Christ must previously have been stored in the mind in order for the Spirit of God to bring them to our remembrance in the time of peril. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart,” said David, “that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11).—The Great Controversy, 599, 600.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 112
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray hard for E and her children that God will work mightily in their behalf. R
—-Please pray that Ainsley can get in to see the neurologist before July. Annie
—-Please pray for Harold who is in the hospital. Angie
—-I must ask for prayers for my daughter. She is in the final stages of Hodgkins Lymphoma. Please pray for her children and family. James
—-Please continue to pray for Linda who is in rehab with a stroke and her Billy her husband as they are both very discouraged.
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Dear Friends,
The weather this past weekend was perfect for camping, but we did not camp. The temperature was ideal and it was nice and sunny, but we could enjoy it only briefly. Ron and I wished that he had had the camper ready for we would have grabbed a few necessities and found a quiet spot to enjoy God’s great creation. He had been intending on getting it de-winterized long before this but has been working such long hours that it was just not possible. Because it was not ready, we had to content ourselves by taking a drive at a local lake.
How easy it is to get so busy that we put off the most important preparation there is—-being ready for Jesus to come. He warns us, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matt 24:42-51
Sadly, the vast majority will not be ready for that grand and glorious day. They put off the needed preparation until it was too late to prepare. With terror and unbelievable sorrow, they will exclaim, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Jer 8:20
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Cor 6:2 May we remember that “the end of all things is at hand, be therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” 1 Peter 4:7 May we make the needed preparation before it is too late, is my prayer.
Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/with-a-prayerful-spirit.html

After asking the Lord for a knowledge of His will, for heavenly wisdom, for the light of the Holy Spirit, the petitioner will search the Scriptures, and find that passages that were dark to his mind have suddenly grown clear, and he understands his duty as never before. Jesus said: “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:16, 17).

The knowledge of divine truth is promised to those who will render obedience to the light and truth that have been given to them. An entrance into the strait gate is not dependent upon the possession of learning or riches, but it is dependent upon the possession of a teachable spirit. He who appreciates the first ray of heavenly light, and appropriates it, and walks in it, bringing his actions into harmony with that ray, and becoming sanctified through it, will receive yet more light. He will understand that the gospel is the plan of salvation….

He who has an obedient heart, that is ready to do the will of God, will not only gladly receive truth, but will earnestly seek for truth as for hidden treasure. He will come to the Scriptures with a humble and teachable spirit, seeking to understand how he may walk in the light, and saying, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). He is ready to sacrifice anything and everything, if required, in order that he may be in harmony with the will of God.

It is not always an easy matter to render obedience to the will of God. It demands firmness of purpose to enter in at the strait gate and to travel in the narrow path that leads to eternal life, for on every hand are voices inviting the soul into bye and forbidden paths. Those who love wealth and honor and high position will not enter in at the strait gate unless they part with their idols. There is not room to enter in at the strait gate and carry the things of this world along.

He who would enter in at the strait gate must make an entire consecration of his all to God. Jesus says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).—The Review and Herald, March 28, 1912.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 110
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for a friend’s wife fell a couple months ago and broke her other hip and has been in Rehab for several weeks she knows just sleeps. all the time. I told the people who told me that she is getting ready to go home to her Saviour her husband may have to go in the hospital he is on blood thinners and bleeding. you know how to word this with out too much information. Also got a request for prayer for some very dear friends of mine . . . he is in his early 80’s very active but they found out that he may need a pace maker his pulse is 36. please pray for Ernie. he is a super nice guy loves the Lord and helps everyone he can. . . . an update on the little boy he is home and at church [and doind well] he was born with out a rectum had so many surgeries o his rectum trying to create one he has been on a colostomy bag. that little guy is so cheerful and super friendly in spite of all his surgeries. I tell people he is trying to show people that no wonder what we are going through Jesus is going though it with us. and that we need to keep the JOY of the Lord in front of us.. M
—-Please continue to pray for E and children. R
—-Please be praying for my friend Sheila that is suffering with depression and anxiety. Dan
—-My parents house caught on fire this past Wednesday. They barely made it out in time just before the whole burned down. Thank God they are safe and didn’t get injured at all. Josue
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Dear Friends,

Some time ago, I heard a sermon on being dead to sin but alive in Christ. The main text was Romans 6:1-11: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
As the speaker shared his testimony as an illustration of the change Jesus makes in the life that is yielded to God, I could only praise our Loving Redeemer for His goodness in giving “Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world” and making such a change in each person who allows Him to make them dead to sin but alive through our Lord Jesus Christ. Gal 1:4 “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.” 1 John 3:1 Praise God! The Only Begotten Son of God left all of the glories of Heaven, the worship of beings unfallen, 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

Paul asks, “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

May we truly become dead to sin but alive through Jesus, working “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 May we “put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of [our] mind.” May we “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” is my prayer. Eph 4:22-24

Rose

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Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/with-a-teachable-disposition.html