And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”—Numbers 22:12

The Moabites were a degraded, idolatrous people, yet they manifested sincerity and earnestness in their persistent efforts to secure the power of divination against Israel. According to the light which they had received, their guilt was not so great in the sight of Heaven as was that of Balaam. As he professed to be God’s prophet, all he should say would be supposed to come from the Lord Jehovah. Hence he was not to be permitted to speak as he chose, but must deliver the message which God should give him. The Lord saw in this pretentious prophet, a man whose heart was defiled with deception and hypocrisy, and dealt with him according to his own perverse and stubborn ways.

This instance is placed on record for the benefit of all succeeding generations. It is dangerous to trifle with God, in order to follow a stubborn, determined will. There are thousands at the present day who are pursuing a course similar to that of Balaam. They follow their own ways, and take counsel of their own hearts, under a pretense of being guided and controlled by the Spirit of God. And the prayers of these willfully deceived ones are answered in accordance with the spirit that prompts them. For wise purposes the Lord often permits them to have their own way. They walk in a thick mist—the atmosphere which Satan breathes about the soul.

Dangers beset the path of every person who, forsaking the only true Guide, tries by the light of his own wisdom to find a safe way through the dangers and difficulties of this world. Such a person places himself in a situation far more perilous than that of the traveler climbing along the slippery face of a cliff, where, if he lose his balance for a moment, he will fall and be dashed in pieces. David describes the peril of those who do not walk with God, but for a time seem to be prosperous in an evil way: “Thou didst set them in slippery places, Thou castest them down to destruction in a moment. They are utterly consumed with terror.”—The Signs of the Times, November 25, 1880.

Further Reflection: Do I still hear the voice of God? Is He guiding my life? How can I be sure that I am following the heaven’s only true Guide?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

“As for you also,
Because of the blood of your covenant,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to the stronghold,
You prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare
That I will restore double to you.”
      —Zechariah 9:11, 12

Every church should labor for the perishing within its own borders and for those outside its borders. The members are to shine as living stones in the temple of God, reflecting heavenly light. No random, haphazard, desultory work is to be done. To get fast hold of souls ready to perish means more than praying for a drunkard, and then, because he weeps and confesses the pollution of his soul, declaring him saved. Over and over again the battle must be fought.

Let the members of every church feel it their special duty to labor for those in their neighborhood. Let each one who claims to stand under the banner of Christ feel that he has entered into covenant relation with God, to do the work of the Saviour. Let not those who take up this work become weary in well-doing. When the redeemed stand before God, precious souls will respond to their names who are there because of the faithful, patient efforts put forth in their behalf, the entreaties and earnest persuasions to flee to the Stronghold. Thus those who in this world have been laborers together with God will receive their reward.

The ministers of the popular churches will not allow the truth to be presented to the people from their pulpits. The enemy leads them to resist the truth with bitterness and malice. Falsehoods are manufactured. Christ’s experience with the Jewish rulers is repeated. Satan strives to eclipse every ray of light shining from God to His people. He works through the ministers as he worked through the priests and rulers in the days of Christ. Will those who know the truth join his party, to hinder, embarrass, and turn aside those who are trying to work in God’s appointed way to advance His work, to plant the standard of truth in the regions of darkness?—Counsels on Health, 356, 357.

Further Reflection: How do I avoid becoming weary in well-doing when working with people who consistently struggle to stay within God’s Stronghold?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed.”—Revelation 3:18

Jesus pointed out the power of false teaching to destroy the appreciation and desire for truth. “No man,” He said, “having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.” All the truth that has been given to the world through patriarchs and prophets shone out in new beauty in the words of Christ. But the scribes and Pharisees had no desire for the precious new wine. Until emptied of the old traditions, customs, and practices, they had no place in mind or heart for the teachings of Christ….

A legal religion can never lead souls to Christ; for it is a loveless, Christ-less religion. Fasting or prayer that is actuated by a self-justifying spirit is an abomination in the sight of God. The solemn assembly for worship, the round of religious ceremonies, the external humiliation, the imposing sacrifice, proclaim that the doer of these things regards himself as righteous, and as entitled to heaven; but it is all a deception. Our own works can never purchase salvation.

As it was in the days of Christ, so it is now; the Pharisees do not know their spiritual destitution. To them comes the message, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear” (Revelation 3:17, 18). Faith and love are the gold tried in the fire. But with many the gold has become dim, and the rich treasure has been lost. The righteousness of Christ is to them as a robe unworn, a fountain untouched….

Human beings must be emptied of self before they can be, in the fullest sense, believers in Jesus. When self is renounced, then the Lord can make a person a new creature…. The love of Christ will animate the believer with new life. In the one who looks unto the Author and Finisher of our faith the character of Christ will be manifest.—The Desire of Ages, 279, 280.

Further Reflection: Have I surrendered myself to Christ so that I can be made new?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.—Psalm 119:105

Christ is the center of all true doctrine. All true religion is found in His word and in nature. He is the One in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered; and the teacher who learns from Him finds a safe anchorage.

All that the mind can grasp is opened before us in the Bible. This is our spiritual food. We are to contemplate the wonderful works of God and repeat to our children the lessons learned, that we may lead them to see His skill, His power, and His grandeur in His created works.

What a God is our God! He rules over His kingdom with diligence and care, and He has built a hedge—the Ten Commandments—about His subjects to preserve them from the results of transgression. In requiring obedience to the laws of His kingdom, God gives His people health and happiness, peace and joy. He teaches them that the perfection of character He requires can be attained only by becoming familiar with His word.

It is written in the prophets: “O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee” (Isaiah 54:11-14).

“This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:33, 34).—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 453, 454.

Further Reflection: If it is not possible to experience perfection of character without spending time in God’s Word, how can I change my schedule to spend more time in biblical study?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.—Psalm 103:8

God has done His part of the work for the salvation of men and women, and now He calls for the co-operation of the church. There is the blood of Christ, the Word of truth, the Holy Spirit, and there are the perishing souls. Every follower of Christ has a part to act to bring men and women to accept the blessings Heaven has provided. Let us closely examine ourselves, and see if we have done this work. Let us question the motives, the actions of the life. Are there not many unpleasant pictures hanging in memory’s halls? …

Have not Christ and His love been shut out from your life, until a mechanical form has taken the place of heart service? Where is the kindling of soul you once felt at the mention of the name of Jesus? In the freshness of your early dedication, how fervent was your love for souls. How earnestly you sought to represent to them the Saviour’s love. The absence of that love has made you cold, critical, exacting. Seek to win it back, and then labor to bring souls to Christ. If you refuse to do this, others who have had less light and experience, and fewer opportunities, will come up and take your place, and do that which you have neglected; for the work must be done to save the tempted, the tried, the perishing. Christ offers the service to His church; who will accept it?

God has not been unmindful of the good deeds, the self-denying acts, of the church in the past. All are registered on high. But these are not enough. These will not save the church when she ceases to fulfill her mission. Unless the cruel neglect and indifference manifested in the past shall cease, the church, instead of going from strength to strength, will continue to degenerate into weakness and formality….

Brethren, your own lamps will surely flicker and become dim, until they go out in darkness, unless you shall make decided efforts to reform. “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works.” The opportunity now presented may be short. If this season of grace and repentance passes unimproved, the warning is given, “I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place.” These words are uttered by the long-suffering, Forbearing One.—The Review and Herald, November 30, 1886.

Further Reflection: Do I still get excited about my Savior, and seeing the lost saved?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names