Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Titus 2:13.

Jesus is soon coming; and it is for us who believe this solemn truth to give the warning to the world. We should show by our dress, our conversation, and our actions, that our minds are fixed on something better than the business and pleasures of this short life. We are but pilgrims and strangers here and should give some evidence that we are ready and waiting for the appearing of our divine Lord. Let the world see that you are journeying from this to a better land, dear reader—to an immortal inheritance that passeth not away; that you cannot afford to devote your life to the things of this world, but that your concern is to prepare for the home that awaits you in the kingdom of God.

How shall we make this preparation? It is by bringing our appetites and passions into subjection to the will of God and showing in our lives the fruits of holiness. We must deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God. We must let Christ into our hearts and homes. We must cultivate love, sympathy, and true courtesy one to another….

Our lives should be consecrated to the good and happiness of others, as was our Savior’s. This is the joy of angels, and the work in which they are ever engaged. The spirit of Christ’s self-sacrificing love is the spirit that pervades heaven and is the source of its blessedness. And it must be our spirit, if we would be fitted to join the society of the angelic host. In proportion as the love of Christ fills our hearts and controls our lives, selfishness and love of ease will be overcome; it will be our pleasure to minister to others and to do the will of our Lord, whom we hope soon to see….

We should do right because it is right, and not to avoid punishment, or for fear of some great calamity that may come upon us. I want to do right for the pleasure I have in righteousness. There is so much happiness to be found in doing good here; so much satisfaction in doing the will of God; so much pleasure in receiving His blessing. Then let us show that we are men and women of sound judgment, choosing our portion not in this world, but in that which is to come. Let us stand at our post, faithful in the discharge of every duty, having our lives hid with Christ in God, that when the chief Shepherd shall appear, we “shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”—Signs of the Times, November 10, 1887.

From From the Heart

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. Luke 6:6.

“The scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?” … Here Christ settled the question He had asked. He pronounced it right to perform a work of mercy and necessity. “It is lawful,” He said, “to do well on the sabbath days.” …

It had often been stated by the teachers of the people, and indeed was one of their maxims, that for them not to do good when they had opportunity was to do evil—that to refrain from saving life when it was in their power to do so was to make themselves guilty of murder…. They were following upon His track to find occasion for falsely accusing Him; they were hunting His life with bitter hatred and malice, while He was saving life and bringing happiness to many hearts. Was it better to slay on the Sabbath, as they were planning to do, than to heal the afflicted, as He had done? Was it more righteous to have murder in the heart upon God’s holy day, than to have that love toward all people which finds expression in deeds of charity and mercy? …

The rulers communed one with another how they should rid themselves of this bold advocate of righteousness, whose words and works were drawing the people away from the teachers of Israel. Notwithstanding their counterinfluence, “the world,” they declared, “is gone after him.” But they thought that might and numbers would bring things as they wished; and they took counsel together how they might destroy Him.

We see this enacted today. Those who are themselves transgressing the law of God, making the commandments of God of none effect through their tradition, follow with reproach and accusations the servants whom God sends with a message to correct their evils. They determine to remove them, to still their voice forever, rather than forsake the sins that have called forth the rebuke of God.—The Review and Herald, August 10, 1897.

From From the Heart

It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4.

Christ resisted the temptations of the enemy with the only weapon that the soldier of the cross of Christ can successfully use—“It is written.” Where? In the Old and New Testaments. With these words we are to defend ourselves and warn others, holding forth to them the Word of life.

Many have never understood that Sunday is not the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. In his subtlety, Satan has covered up this fact and has presented a common day as sacred, that the whole world may become guilty before God by transgression. Many are utterly ignorant that they are not keeping the fourth commandment. It is essential for all to seek for truth from the divine Guidebook, that they may decide what the Lord says on this question. People have said much, but we cannot build our faith on the words of any person. There are two sides to this question. The God of heaven presents His law, and Satan holds out his spurious sabbath….

Sunday is a child of the Papacy. It has been nourished and cradled by the Protestant world as a genuine requirement of Jehovah; but it has no foundation in the Word of God. The Christian world is tested by their relation to this matter. God moves upon men and women to search the Scriptures for evidence to sustain Sunday. Those who search with a desire for truth will see that in the past they have been relying on tradition and have accepted an institution of the Papacy….

We are accountable only for the light that shines upon us. The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus are testing us. If we are faithful and obedient, God will delight in us and bless us as His own chosen, peculiar people. When perfect faith and perfect love and obedience abound, working in the hearts of those who are Christ’s followers, they will have a powerful influence. Light will emanate from them, dispelling the darkness around them, refining and elevating all who come within the sphere of their influence, and bringing to a knowledge of the truth all who are willing to be enlightened and to follow in the humble path of obedience.

Great blessings are promised to those who keep holy God’s Sabbath.—The Review and Herald, July 13, 1897.

From From the Heart

Blessed is the man … who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil. Isaiah 56:2.

The prophet Isaiah, looking forward to the gospel dispensation, sets forth in the most impressive manner the obligation of the Sabbath and the blessings attending its observance….

Hitherto, circumcision and a strict observance of the ceremonial law had been the conditions upon which Gentiles could be admitted to the congregation of Israel; but these distinctions were to be abolished by the gospel. “Every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.” …

Again, after rebuking the selfishness, violence, and oppression of Israel and exhorting them to works of righteousness and mercy, He declares, … “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” …

This prophecy reaches down the centuries to the time when the man of sin attempted to make void one of the precepts of God’s law, to trample underfoot the original Sabbath of Jehovah, and in its stead exalt one of his own creation….

There were two institutions founded in Eden that were not lost in the Fall—the Sabbath and the marriage relation. These were carried by humanity beyond the gates of paradise. All who love and observe the Sabbath, and maintain the purity of the marriage institution, thereby prove themselves the friends of humanity and the friends of God. All who by precept or example lessen the obligation of these sacred institutions are the enemies of both God and humanity, and are using their influence and their God-given talents to bring in a state of confusion and moral corruption.—Signs of the Times, February 28, 1884.

From From the Heart

The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. Exodus 20:10.

When God created the earth and placed human beings upon it, He divided time into seven periods. Six He gave to us for our own use, to employ in secular business; one He reserved for Himself. Having rested on the seventh day, He blessed and sanctified it. Henceforth, the seventh day was to be regarded as the Lord’s rest day and to be sacredly observed as the memorial of His creative work. It was not the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth day that was sanctified, or set apart to a holy use; neither was it a seventh part of time and no day in particular; but it was the seventh day, the day upon which God had rested….

When the law was given at Sinai, the Sabbath was placed in the midst of moral precepts, in the very bosom of the Decalogue. But the Sabbath institution was not then made known for the first time. The fourth commandment places its origin at Creation. The Creator’s rest day was hallowed by Adam in holy Eden and by the people of God throughout the patriarchal ages. During Israel’s long bondage in Egypt, under taskmasters that knew not God, they could not keep the Sabbath; therefore the Lord brought them out where they could remember His holy day….

A threefold miracle was wrought in honor of the Sabbath, even before the law was given on Sinai. A double quantity of manna fell on the sixth day, none upon the Sabbath, and the portion needed for the Sabbath was preserved sweet and pure, when if any were kept over at any other time, it became unfit for food. Here is conclusive evidence that the Sabbath was instituted at Creation, when the foundations of the earth were laid, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. And its sacredness remains unchanged, and will so remain even to the close of time. From the Creation, every precept of the divine law has been obligatory on mankind and has been observed by those who fear the Lord. The doctrine that God’s law has been abolished is one of Satan’s devices to compass the ruin of the race….

The holy oracles were especially committed to the Jews; not to be an Israelite was not to belong to the favored people of God…. Now the prophet declares that the stranger who will love and obey God shall enjoy the privileges that have belonged exclusively to the chosen people.—Signs of the Times, February 28, 1884.

From From the Heart