My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me…. And they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. John 10:27, 28.

When Satan heard the word, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed,” he knew that men and women would be given power to resist his temptations. He realized that his claim to the position of prince of the newly created world was to be contested, that One would come whose work would be fatal to his evil purposes, that he and his angels would be forever defeated. His assurance of certain power, his sense of security, was gone. Adam and Eve had yielded to his temptations, and their posterity would feel the strength of his assaults. But they would not be left without a helper. The Son of God was to come to the world, to be tempted in our behalf, and in our behalf to overcome.

There is enmity between fallen human beings and Satan only as they place themselves on God’s side and yield obedience to the law of Jehovah. This brings to them power to withstand Satan’s attacks. It is through Christ’s sacrifice that they are enabled to obey…. The Son of God, bearing human nature, and tempted on all points as we are tempted, met and resisted the assaults of the enemy. And in His strength human beings can gain the victory, meeting the tempter, yet not overcome by his artifice and his presumptuous presentations. By accepting Christ as a personal Savior, men and women can stand firm against the temptations of the enemy. Human beings may have eternal life if they will accept the principles of heaven and allow Christ to bring the heart and mind into obedience to the law of Jehovah.

Christ saw the meaning of Satan’s wiles, and till the end of His test and trial, He stood firm in His resistance, refusing to swerve from allegiance to God….

The way in which Satan tempted Christ, he is today tempting every soul. He seeks to hold every person under his reasoning. The Savior warns us against entering into controversy with him or his agencies. We are not to meet them except on the Bible ground, “It is written.” The less that we have to do with the arguments of those who are opposed to God, the firmer will be our foundation. We are to repeat as seldom as possible the sentiments of Satan’s forming. Let every tempted soul keep looking at the principles that are wholly from above, remembering the promise, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman.”—The Review and Herald, May 3, 1906.

From From the Heart

I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:35.

There are many in this age of the world who act as if they were at liberty to question the words of the Infinite, to review His decisions and statutes, endorsing, revising, reshaping, and annulling at their pleasure. We are never safe while we are guided by human opinions, but we are safe when we are guided by a “Thus saith the Lord.” We cannot trust the salvation of our souls to any lower standard than the decisions of an infallible Judge. Those who make God their guide and His Word their counselor behold the lamp of life. God’s living oracles guide their feet in straight paths. Those who are thus led do not dare to judge the Word of God, but ever hold that His Word judges them. They get their faith and religion from the Word of the living God. It is the guide and counselor that directs their path. The Word is indeed a light to their feet and a lamp to their path. They walk under the direction of the Father of light, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. He whose tender mercies are over all His works makes the path of the just as a shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day….

The world is perishing for want of pure, unadulterated truth. Christ is the truth. His words are truth, and they have a greater value and a deeper significance than appears on the surface. All the sayings of Christ have a value beyond their unpretending appearance. Minds that are quickened by the Holy Spirit will discern the value of these sayings. They will discern the precious gems of truth, though they may be buried treasure….

The heart is the citadel of the being, and until that is wholly on the Lord’s side, the enemy will gain constant victories over us through his subtle temptations.

If the life is given into its control, the power of the truth is unlimited. The thoughts are brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. From the treasure of the heart are brought forth appropriate and fitting words. Writing to Timothy, Paul says, “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”—The Review and Herald, March 29, 1906.

From From the Heart

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Through the power that Jesus gives, we can be “more than conquerors.” But we cannot manufacture this power. Only through the Spirit of God can we receive it. We need a deep insight into the nature of Christ and into the mystery of His love, “which passeth knowledge.” We are to live in the warm, genial rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Nothing but Christ’s loving compassion, His divine grace, His almighty power, can enable us to baffle the relentless foe and subdue the opposition of our own hearts. What is our strength? The joy of the Lord. Let the love of Christ fill our hearts, and then we shall be prepared to receive the power that He has for us.

Let us thank God every day for the blessings that are ours. If human agents will humble themselves before God, realizing how inappropriate it is for them to cherish self-sufficiency, realizing their utter inability to do the work that needs to be done in order that their souls may be purified; if they will cast away their own righteousness, Christ will abide in their hearts. He will put His hand to the work of creating them anew and will continue the work till they are complete in Him.

Christ will never neglect the work that has been placed in His hands. He will inspire the resolute disciple with a sense of the perversity, the sin-stained condition, the depravity, of the heart upon which He is working. True penitents learn the uselessness of self-importance. Looking to Jesus, comparing their own defective characters with the Savior’s perfect character, they say only,

“In my hand no price I bring;Simply to thy cross I cling.”

With Isaiah they declare, “Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.”—The Review and Herald, March 31, 1904.

From From the Heart

If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Matthew 12:28.

In Christ’s mighty works there was sufficient evidence to convince anyone. But the Jewish rulers did not want the truth. They could not but acknowledge the reality of the works of Christ, but they cast condemnation upon them all. They were forced to acknowledge that supernatural power attended His work, but this power, they declared, was derived from Satan. Did they really believe this? No, but they were so determined that the truth should not lead to their conversion that they charged the work of the Spirit of God to the devil….

All-compassionate Redeemer! What love, what matchless love, is Thine! Charged by the great men of Israel with doing His works of mercy by the power of the prince of devils, He was as one who saw and heard not. The work He came from heaven to do must not be left undone. Truth must be unfolded to humanity. The Light of the world must flash His beams into the darkness of sin and superstition. The truth found no place in the hearts of those who should have been foremost to receive it, because they were barricaded with prejudice and wicked unbelief. Among those who had not such exalted privileges, Christ prepared hearts to receive His message. He made new bottles for the new wine.

Every truth is invested by the God of heaven with an influence proportionate to its character and importance. The plan of redemption, which means everything to a lost and ruined world, was to be proclaimed, and the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus was brought into vital contact with the heart of the world….

By Christ the truth was proclaimed. The hearts of those who professed to be the children of God were barricaded against it, but those who had not been so highly privileged, those who were not clothed with the garments of self-righteousness, were drawn to Christ….

Today Satan endeavors to keep hidden from the world the great atoning sacrifice, which reveals the love of God and the binding claims of His law. He wars against the work of Christ…. But while he is carrying on this work, heavenly intelligences are combining with God’s human instrumentalities in the work of restoration.—The Review and Herald, April 30, 1901.

From From the Heart

What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:36, 37.

It is the place of the followers of Christ to acknowledge their dependence upon God in everything and to carry out the principles of their faith in all the relations of life, including business transactions. They cannot otherwise correctly represent the religion of Christ. And they should be honest with God as well as with others. Can someone be dishonest with God? Read the prophet’s answer: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me.” …

Tithes and offerings belong to God. The means in our possession should be regarded as a sacred trust, to be used to the glory of the Giver. Self-denial is the condition of salvation. The charity that seeketh not her own is the fruit of that disinterested love that characterized the life of our Redeemer. Those who for love to Christ deny themselves will find the happiness which the selfish seek in vain, but those who make their own pleasures and selfish interests the chief object of life will lose the happiness they think to enjoy.

The apostle Paul has something to say on the subject of system in giving: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.”

God’s rule of giving, as expressed in His Word, excludes no one, and it presses heavily on no one. It touches the poor but lightly, and is not really felt by the rich….

Said Christ, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If we lay up our treasure in heaven, our hearts will be in heaven; if our treasure is on the earth, our hearts will be set on things of the earth, worrying about losses, and anxious about gains and riches….

As in the balances of the sanctuary the offering is estimated in accordance with the spirit of love and sacrifice that prompted it, the promises will just as surely be fulfilled to the liberal poor man or woman who has little to offer but gives that little freely, as to the wealthy who give largely of their abundance….

Christ’s kingdom should be superior to every other interest…. [God] feeds the sparrow and clothes the lily; will He be less mindful of the needs of His children?—Bible Echo (Australia), December 9, 1895.

From From the Heart