The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22, 23.

People can be just what they choose to be. Character is not obtained by receiving an education. Character is not obtained by amassing wealth or by gaining worldly honor. Character is not obtained by trying to have others fight the battle of life for us. It must be sought, worked for, fought for; and it requires a purpose, a will, a determination. To form a character which God will approve requires persevering effort. It will take a continual resisting of the powers of darkness to stand under the bloodstained banner of Prince Immanuel, to be approved in the day of judgment, and have our names retained in the book of life. Is it not worth more to have our names registered in that book, have them immortalized among the heavenly angels, than to have them sounded in praise throughout the whole earth? Let me know that Jesus smiles upon me; let me know that He approves my actions and my course, and then let come what may, let afflictions be ever so great, I will be resigned to my lot and rejoice in the Lord….

Have you kindled your fire from the altar? Then let it shine forth in good works to those around you. Gather yourselves together, and by your divine influence and earnest efforts scatter the light….

We must work for God, and we must work for heaven, with all the might and faith there is in us. Be not deceived by the temporary things of this life. Consider the things of eternal interest. I want a closer connection with God. I want to sing the song of redemption in the kingdom of glory. I want the crown of immortality to be placed upon my brow. With an immortal tongue I want to sing praises to Him who left glory and came to earth to save those that were lost. I want to praise Him. I want to magnify Him. I want to glorify Him. I want the immortal inheritance and the eternal substance. And what care I, I ask you, what care I for the things of the world if I lose or if I gain heaven at last? Or what advantage will they be to me? But if I have a hold on Heaven, I can have a right hold on my fellow human beings; I can have an influence that will constantly press against the tide of evil that there is in the world, and lead souls into the ark of safety.—The Review and Herald, December 21, 1886.

From From the Heart

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30.

The world is full of unrest, trials, and difficulties. It is an enemy’s land, and on every hand we are beset by temptations. “In the world,” says Jesus, “ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”; and “my peace I give unto you.”

Our Savior represents His requirements as a yoke, and the Christian life as one of burden-bearing. Yet, contrasting these with the cruel power of Satan and with the burdens imposed by sin, He declares: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When we try to live the life of a Christian, to bear its responsibilities and perform its duties without Christ as a helper, the yoke is galling, the burden intolerably heavy. But Jesus does not desire us to do this….

Many profess to come to Christ, while they yet cling to their own ways, which are a painful yoke. Selfishness, covetousness, ambition, love of the world, or some other cherished sin, destroys their peace and joy….

In every act the Christian should seek to represent his Master, to make His service appear attractive. Let none make religion repulsive by persistent gloominess, and by relating their trials and their difficulties, their self-denials and their sacrifices….

Let it be seen that with you the love of Christ is an abiding motive; that your religion is not like a garment that may be put off and resumed again, as the circumstances demand, but a principle, calm, steady, unvarying—one that rules your whole life….

Whatever your lot in life may be, remember that you are in the service of Christ, and manifest a contented, grateful spirit. Whatever your burden or cross, lift it in the name of Jesus; bear it in His strength….

Love to Jesus cannot be hidden, but will make itself seen and felt…. It makes the timid bold, the slothful diligent, the ignorant wise. It makes the stammering tongue eloquent, and rouses the dormant intellect into new life and vigor…. Peace in Christ is of more value than all the treasures of earth.—Signs of the Times, December 17, 1885.

From From the Heart

Let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper. 1 Corinthians 16:2.

Giving is a part of gospel religion. The foundation of the plan of salvation was laid in sacrifice. Jesus left the royal courts of heaven and became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. His life on earth was unselfish, marked with humiliation and sacrifice. And is the servant greater than his Lord? Shall we, partakers of the great salvation which He wrought out for us, refuse to follow our Lord, and to share in His self-denial? When the world’s Redeemer has suffered so much for us, shall we, the members of His body, live in thoughtless self-indulgence? No; self-denial is an essential condition of discipleship….

Christ, as our head, led out in the great work of salvation, but He has entrusted that work to His followers upon earth. It cannot be carried on without means, and He has given His people a plan for raising means sufficient to make His cause prosperous. The tithing system, instituted for this purpose, reaches back to the time of Moses. Even as far back as the days of Adam, long before the definite system was given, men were required to offer to God gifts for religious purposes….

God does not compel us to give to His cause. Our action must be voluntary. He will not have His treasury replenished with unwilling offerings. His design in the plan of systematic giving was to bring us into close relationship with our Creator and in sympathy and love with our fellow human beings, thus placing upon us responsibilities that would counteract selfishness and strengthen disinterested, generous impulses. We are inclined to be selfish and to close our hearts to generous deeds. The Lord, by requiring gifts to be made at stated times, designed that giving should become a habit and be looked upon as a Christian duty. The heart, opened by one gift, was not to have time to close and become selfishly cold, before another offering was bestowed….

Every man, woman, and child may become a treasurer for the Lord….

It is for our own good that He has planned to have us bear some part in the advancement of His cause. He has honored us by making us coworkers with Himself. He has ordained that there should be a necessity for the cooperation of His people, that they may cultivate and keep in exercise their benevolent affections.—Signs of the Times, March. 18, 1886.

From From the Heart

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14.

The greatest blessing we can have is a correct knowledge of ourselves, that we may see our defects of character and by divine grace remedy them….

Are we nearer to God today than we were a year ago? What a change there would be in our religious experience, what a transformation in our characters, if day by day we carried out the principle that we are not our own, but that our time and talents belong to God, and every faculty should be used to do His will and advance His glory….

We may be shut in by the promises of God, which will be as a wall of fire about us. We want to know how to exercise faith. Faith “is the gift of God,” but the power to exercise it is ours. If faith lies dormant, it is no advantage to us; but in exercise it holds all blessings in its grasp. It is the hand by which the soul takes hold of the strength of the Infinite. It is the medium by which human hearts, renewed by the grace of Christ, are made to beat in harmony with the great Heart of love. Faith plants itself on the promises of God and claims them as surety that He will do just as He said He would. Jesus comes to the sinful, helpless, needy soul and says, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Believe, claim the promises, and praise God that you do receive the things you have asked of Him, and when your need is greatest, you will experience His blessing and receive special help….

The inquiry in many hearts is, How shall I find happiness? We are not to make it our object to live for happiness, but we shall surely find it in the path of humble obedience. Paul was happy. He affirms repeatedly that notwithstanding the sufferings, conflicts, and trials that he was called to bear, he enjoyed great consolation. He says, “I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.” All the energies of the chiefest of the apostles were bent to a preparation for the future, immortal life, and when the time of his departure was at hand, he could exclaim in holy triumph, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.”—Signs of the Times, May 22, 1884.

From From the Heart

Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1.

In this text one of the public games so famous in Paul’s time is used to illustrate the Christian race. The competitors in the race submitted to a painful training process, practicing the most rigid self-denial that their physical powers might be in the most favorable condition, and then they taxed these powers to the utmost to win the honor of a perishable wreath. Some never recovered from the effects. In consequence of the terrible strain, men would sometimes fall by the racecourse, bleeding at the mouth and nose. Others breathed out their life, firmly grasping the poor bauble that had cost them so dear.

Paul compares the followers of Christ to the competitors in a race. “Now,” says the apostle, “they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” Here Paul makes a sharp contrast, to put to shame the feeble efforts of professed Christians who plead for their selfish indulgences and refuse to place themselves, by self-denial and strictly temperate habits, in a position that they will make a success of overcoming. All who entered the list in the public games were animated and excited by the hope of a prize if they were successful. In like manner a prize is held out before Christians, the reward of faithfulness to the end of the race. If the prize is won, their future welfare is assured; an exceeding and eternal weight of glory is in reserve for the overcomers….

In the races, the crown of honor was placed in sight of the competitors, that if any were tempted for a moment to relax their efforts, the eye would rest on the prize, and they would be inspired with new vigor. So the heavenly goal is presented to the view of the Christian, that it may have its just influence and inspire all with zeal and ardor….

All ran in the race, but only one received the prize…. It is not so with the Christian race. None who are earnest and persevering will fail of success. The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. The weakest saint as well as the strongest may obtain the crown of immortal glory, if they are thoroughly in earnest and will submit to privation and loss for Christ’s sake.—The Review and Herald, October 18, 1881.

From From the Heart