“Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” It does not understand the principles that underlie our course of action. We must stand before God with a conscience void of offense. There are wonderful privileges for every one of us. God never places before us a requirement without giving us the power to perform it. He never asks us to take one step in advance of Him. He leads the way, and we are to follow after. Following Him, we are in no danger of going astray. Thus only can we perfect a Christian character as stewards of the grace of God.

To us have been entrusted the truths of the gospel for this time. It is a wonderful, wonderful treasure, and the Lord desires us to have our eyes enlightened and our hearts quickened. He desires us to be nerved and strengthened by the power that He will give us if we will only be true to Him. He desires every one of us to perfect a character after the divine similitude. The Christian who does not do this casts a reflection on God. He dishonors his Saviour. Those who have access to the words written in Scripture are without excuse if they do not apply these words to themselves, if they do not thus cleanse their hearts from sin. By the lights shining from the throne of God upon our pathway, we shall be judged at the last great day….

To have light shining upon the pathway in the clearness of the gospel of Christ, as it has shone upon our pathway, is a fearful responsibility. We are to follow on step by step, with our eyes fixed upon our Leader. He will not lead us one step out of the right way.

God gave Christ to our world to save us from eternal death. Behold Him, behold Him! Keep looking upon Him till you reflect His image. Do not accept the words of any man, unless you can see that he is conformed to the divine image, because if you do, you sustain him in doing wrong; you sustain him by asking his counsel and following his directions.

What we need is the pure word from the Holy Bible. Christ has bidden us conform our lives to His life. We are to know what it means to keep the commandments of God in truth and righteousness. The love that was in the heart of Christ is to be in our hearts, that we may reveal it to those around us. We need to be daily strengthened by the deep love of God, and to let this love shine forth to those around us.—Manuscript 66, May 25, 1905, “The Need of Home Religion,” a talk.
The Upward Look p. 159
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Prayer Requests
—-A friend of mine’s son is in the hospital with serious complications due to vaping. Please keep him in your prayers. Valerie
—-Please pray for Ron and Eileen today as they both have doctor appointments that could be scary. Rose
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Dear Friends,
When the weather is nice, we used to like to walk along the river or at a local nature preserve in the evenings after work or on weekends. Ronnie Jay photographed many animals in those places—-beaver, deer, raccoon, herons, ducks, coyote, etc. On those walks, I often thought about how much more interesting it would have been taking those walks with Darlene, my best friend who died some years ago of cancer. We enjoyed the walks we took with her when we lived in Washington state as she was very knowledgeable in the things of nature. She could name the rocks, trees, plants, and flowers and would often point out different plants that were edible just in case we ever got lost in the woods. Sometimes we would sample them. They were not very tasty, but it was good to know what was edible and what was not. Our walks with Darlene was like a school to learn new things. How I miss her.
We have a better Best Friend who will never die. What blessing is ours to have the Great Creator of the Universe love us and lead us ever upward on the path to the Heavenly Kingdom. We have the privilege of walking with Him each day. He has promised, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Ps. 32:8 What a wonderful blessing! To be taught by the One Who loves us so much that He died to save us, to walk with Him each day as He unfolds new and beautiful truths from His Word.
Moreover, as we behold Him in His Word and allow Him to direct our path, we are changed into His likeness. “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor 3:18 “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 place our hand in our Dear Saviour and walk with Him each day is my prayer.
Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/01PKbV61Zok/behold-him.html

A few even in Sardis held fast their integrity. Their only hope was in holding fast to God, and in them the promise will be fulfilled, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12)….

In the early Christian church there were men who were true disciples of Christ. They met often together where prayer was wont to be made. They could only work to advance those principles that bore the signet of heaven. They first talked with God, ascertained what spirit they themselves were of; then they could closely and critically examine every point, every method, every principle in the light reflected from the Sun of Righteousness. They did not accept strange fire. They took their fire from the divine altar. To them, holy and just principles were sacred, and by cherishing these they kept themselves unspotted from the world.

Ever looking to Jesus, they marked the spirit in which He worked and followed His example. They gave to others the pure principles of the Word of God. This Word was their counselor, their guide, their close companion. To them, the Scriptures were supreme authority. For every question agitated they had one standard to consult. It was not, “What saith men?” but, “What saith the Lord?”

Those who are constrained by the love of Christ will be faithful to the work and Word of God…. The true Christian is ever to feel that he is dependent upon his Maker. And he will not be ashamed to acknowledge his dependence. Like Daniel, he will not take credit to himself. He will give all honor to God, letting worldly men as well as his brethren know that he is depending upon the Lord, and weeding out of his life everything that would grieve His Spirit. Like Daniel, he will improve every opportunity of adding to his acquirements. He will trade upon the talents the Lord has given him, after the holy principles laid down in the Word. And this will give him multiplied ability….

If God gives a man wisdom, his course of action will be in harmony with the will of God, and those connected with him will have confidence in his wisdom to devise and plan for the progress and advancement of the work of God in saving souls that are ready to die. The apostle Peter says: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:2, 3).—Manuscript 66, May 24, 1898, to the General Conference and our publishing institutions.
The Upward Look p. 157
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Brenda, Fran, and Joyce who all have serious health issues. Also pray for Ron who is having eye issues. Rose
—-My friend is going in for cancer surgery on 3-10- 2020 and she is terrified that she won’t make it. just a hysterectomy with cancer.she is a church member who really needs to fall in love with Jesus..and trust Him for everything. thanks. M.
—-Please pray for my post open heart patient for healing. Emerson
—-Please pray for Linda and Lisa and all the family in the loss of their mother. Rose
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Dear Friends,

When Esther was young she often babysat for various evangelistic meetings that our church had. When the parents would leave the little children in her care, they would begin to cry and want their mother. Esther would pick up the crying child and talk softly. She would tell them how she remembered when I would leave her in the care of those who were babysitting for some meetings and how she felt. She felt as if those people were trying to steal her and she would never see her mama again. She would tell them that their mama will come back for them just like I had for her. The crying child would always calm down and cling to Esther because here was someone who understood his fears.
How often we feel like a crying child all forsaken and alone. Praise God! We have a Savior Who understands our sorrows for He left the glories of Heaven and the worship of all the beings in the vast Universe and became a man to save us. Isaiah prophesied of Him, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isa 53:3-12
What a wonderful God we serve! Let us continually cling to our Loving Saviour Who went through so much sorrow and grief for us so that we can be saved.
Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/gypPPnsriqs/what-is-the-source-of-your-fire.html

God wants each one of us to find his place, and when each one is in his place, doing the work that God has given him, there will be perfect unity….

We need to make it plain to the world that God sent His Son into the world to save sinners. How are we to do this? By putting forth every effort for unity. Each one is to feel that there is need for him to confess his own mistakes and errors, not the mistakes and errors of someone else….

We need to come together as men who are amenable to God. We have been bought with a price. We have only one Judge, the Man Christ Jesus. We have not been given the work of measuring one another’s characters. It is our own characters that we are to measure, by the truth contained in the Scriptures. God can enable us to do this, and can impress on our minds what we must do in order to inherit eternal life….

God loves His people, and He wants them to make their peace with Him. He wants everyone to stand in that relation to others that he is willing to make any sacrifice in order to save the souls of his brethren. They may not have done right. But God wants us to work earnestly to help them, that His name may not be dishonored before the world. God does not give us promises because we have always done right, but that His name may be glorified.

Let no one endeavor to cover up his own sins by revealing the mistakes of someone else. God has not given us this work to do. We are to leave others to humble their own hearts, that they may come to the light of the knowledge of God….

There are those who have been loading themselves down with responsibilities that the Lord has forbidden them to carry. For years light has come to them, but they have not heeded it. What shall be done? Shall we leave these men to sink under the responsibilities that they have chosen to take upon themselves? No; we are to help them out of their difficult position. It rests upon us to do the very best we can to lift the pressure from these burdened souls….

Let each one ask himself the question, How is it with my soul today? And tomorrow let him ask himself the question, How is it with my soul today? Thus, day by day, let each one humble his heart before God.—Manuscript 56, May 23, 1904, a morning talk given at Berrien Springs, Michigan.

The Upward Look p. 156
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Prayer Requests
—-they just found this young lady she is blue and passed out they don’t know what happened she is not a druggie a real nice woman. they don’t know what happened to her
her name is kaleigh .please pray for her. thank you . M.
—-Please pray for your friend my brother in law for healing. Diana
—-Please pray for me I am very sick with a cold…sorethroat…body aches and fever plus gallbladder pain. Connie
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Dear Friends,
When we lived in Washington state, a new family moved in at the end of the road. They had two children about the same age as Ronnie Jay and Esther Marie. My children were so happy to have someone to play with. Since Ronnie Jay and the girl liked each other (like it is normal for children to do) the four children often played like they were having a wedding ceremony.
(I giggled as I watched them and remembered doing the same when I was about their age. A little boy down the street from my grandparents house and I often talked about what we would do when we grew up and got married. Since Gary wanted to become an architect when he grew up, he even drew up plans for our house. Everything seemed to be perfect. I was so happy.)
My son had the same feelings I had had so long before. He was full of hopes and dreams that their future would be intertwined. After the summer was over, the four children went to church school together. Suddenly his little friend changed completely. Instead of being his friend, she began to ridicule him in front of the other children. He was heartbroken.
When he tearfully came home and told me what happened, I shared with him a similar experience (hoping that it would make him feel better) that I had had about a year before I went to live with my mother and her new husband. One day as Gary and I were at the playground of the school across the street from my grandparents’ house, he saw some girls he knew. He began talking to one girl in particular. When she asked Gary who I was, he introduced me as his cousin. Gary knew I was not happy with what he had said, and after the girls left, tried to rationalize his actions. It did no good: I knew that he was ashamed of me.
How often we treat Jesus in the same way. How many times do we act as though we are ashamed of our Best Friend? Do we introduce Him to others, or do we pretend that we don’t even know Him? Do we try to rationalize away our denial? Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Matt 10:32,33 Paul warns, “if we deny him, he also will deny us.” 2 Tim 2:12 Solemn words—words that have eternal consequences. Many times, we do not know ourselves and think that we would never deny our Lord anymore than Peter thought he would deny Christ. When Jesus told His disciples that they would deny Him, Peter stood up and proclaimed that although everyone else would deny Him, he never would. “But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.” Mark 14:29-31 Peter could not believe it, but when he was “backed into a corner,” he denied his Master. He denied the One Who was giving His life for him. When Peter denied Jesus, the Bible says, “Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.” Matt 26:75 That was the start of a new life for Peter. From that moment he stood firm for his Saviour no matter what the consequences might be.
May we never deny our Dear Saviour and break His Great Heart of Love. May we confess that we know Him no matter what the consequences might be. May we ask Him to dwell with us and in us each day is my prayer.
Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/ghzWdG1aNc8/how-is-it-with-my-soul.html