He who gives, [let him do it] with liberality. Romans 12:8.

Liberality is a duty on no account to be neglected; but let not rich or poor for a moment entertain the thought that their offerings to God can atone for their defects of Christian character. Says the great apostle, “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” …

It is to cultivate a spirit of benevolence in us that the Lord calls for our gifts and offerings. He is not dependent upon us for means to sustain His cause. He declares by the prophet, “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” …

God might have made angels the ambassadors of His truth. He might have made known His will, as He proclaimed the law from Sinai, with His own voice. But He has chosen to employ men and women to do this work. And it is only as we fulfill the divine purpose in our creation that life can be a blessing to us. All the riches intrusted to us will prove only a curse unless we employ them to relieve our own daily wants and the wants of the needy around us, and to glorify God by advancing His cause in the earth.

The Majesty of heaven yielded up His high command, His glory with the Father, and even His own life to save us. And now what will we do for Him? God forbid that His professed children should live for themselves! … The first and best of everything rightfully belongs to Him…. It is in this life that He requires all our talents to be put out to the exchangers….

We should not look upon the tithe as the limit of our liberality. The Jews were required to bring to God numerous offerings besides the tithe; and shall not we, who enjoy the blessings of the gospel, do as much to sustain God’s cause as was done in the former, less-favored dispensation? As the work for this time is extending in the earth, the calls for help are constantly increasing….

Not till we wish the infinite Father to cease bestowing His gifts on us should we impatiently exclaim, Is there no end of giving? Not only should we faithfully render to God our tithes, which He claims as His own, but we should bring a tribute to His treasury as an offering of gratitude. Let us with joyful hearts bring to our Creator the firstfruits of all His bounties—our choicest possessions, our best and holiest service.—The Review and Herald, February 9, 1886.

From From the Heart

I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. John 17:6.

If the poor and unlearned are not capable of understanding the Bible, then the mission of Christ to our world was useless, for He says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” The command to search the Scriptures Christ addressed not only to the Pharisees and scribes but to the great multitude of the common people who crowded about them.

If the Bible is not to be understood by every class of people, whether they be rich or poor, what would be the need of the Savior’s charge to search the Scriptures? What profit would there be in searching that which could never be understood? …

The duty of every intelligent person is to search the Scriptures. Each one should know for certainty the conditions upon which salvation is provided….

The Pharisees and the religious teachers so misrepresented the character of God that it was necessary for Christ to come to the world to represent the Father. Through the subtlety of Satan, men and women were led to charge upon God satanic attributes; but the Savior swept back the thick darkness which Satan had rolled before the throne of God in order that he might intercept the bright rays of mercy and love which came from God to us….

Christ took upon Him humanity in order that the light and radiance of divine love should not extinguish the human race. When Moses pleaded, “I beseech thee, shew me thy glory,” he was placed in the cleft of the rock, and the Lord passed by before him. When Philip asked Christ to show them the Father, He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” …

In plain language the Savior taught the world that the tenderness, the compassion, the love that He manifested toward humanity, were the very attributes of His Father in heaven. Whatever doctrine of grace He presented, whatever promise of joy, whatever deed of love, whatever divine attraction He exhibited, had its source in the Father of all. In the person of Christ we behold the eternal God engaged in an enterprise of boundless mercy toward the fallen race.—Signs of the Times, August 20, 1894.

From From the Heart

Make me understand the way of Your precepts; so shall I meditate on Your wonderful works. Psalm 119:27.

The Bible is not exalted to its place among the books of the world, although its study is of infinite importance to the souls of men and women. In searching its pages the imagination beholds scenes majestic and eternal. We behold Jesus, the Son of God, coming to our world, and engaging in the mysterious conflict that discomfited the powers of darkness. Oh, how wonderful, how almost incredible it is, that the infinite God would consent to the humiliation of His own Son that we might be elevated to a place with Him upon His throne! Let all students of the Scriptures contemplate this great fact, and they will not come from a study of the Bible without being purified, elevated, and ennobled….

All over the field of revelation are scattered glad springs of heavenly truth, of peace and joy. These glad springs of truth are within the reach of every seeker. The words of inspiration, pondered in the heart, will be as living streams flowing from the river of the water of life…. Whenever we study the Bible with a prayerful heart, the Holy Spirit is near to open to us the meaning of the words we read….

The opening of God’s Word is always followed by a remarkable opening and strengthening of human faculties, for the entrance of God’s words giveth light….

If the pillars of our faith will not stand the test of investigation, it is time that we knew it, for it is foolish to become set in our ideas and think that no one should interfere with our opinions. Let everything be brought to the Bible, for it is the only rule of faith and doctrine.

We must study the truth for ourselves; no living person should be relied upon to think for us, no matter who that person may be or in what position he or she may be placed. We are not to look upon any human being as a perfect criterion for us. We are to counsel together, and be subject one to another, but at the same time we are to exercise the ability God has given us to learn what is truth.

Each one of us must look to God for divine enlightenment, that we may individually develop a character that will stand the test of the day of God.—Signs of the Times, February 6, 1893.

From From the Heart

Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness. Psalm 119:40.

“Given by inspiration of God,” “able to make thee wise unto salvation,” rendering “the man of God … perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”—the Book of books has the highest claims to our reverent attention. Superficial study of the Word of God cannot meet the claims it has upon us nor furnish us with the benefit that is promised…. To read daily a certain number of chapters, or to commit to memory a stipulated amount of Scripture, without careful thought as to the meaning of the text, will profit but little.

To study one passage until its significance is clear to the mind and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained. We cannot obtain wisdom from the Word of God without giving earnest and prayerful attention to its study. It is true that some portions of Scripture are, indeed, too plain to be misunderstood, but there are many portions whose meaning cannot be seen at a glance, for the truth does not lie upon the surface….

No study is better to give energy to the mind, to strengthen the intellect, than the study of the Word of God. No other book is so potent in elevating the thoughts, in giving vigor to the faculties, as is the Bible, which contains the most ennobling truths. If God’s Word were studied as it should be, we would see breadth of mind, stability of purpose, nobility of character, such as is rarely seen in these times….

Of all the books that flood the world, however valuable, the Bible is the Book of books, most deserving of our study and admiration. It gives not only the history of this world but a description of the world to come. It contains instruction concerning the wonders of the universe; it reveals to our understanding the character of the Author of the heavens and the earth….

The one who studies the Bible holds converse with patriarchs and prophets. Contact is made with truth clothed in elevated language, which exerts a fascinating power over the mind and lifts the thoughts from the things of earth to the glory of the future immortal life. What human wisdom can compare with the revelation of the grandeur of God?—Signs of the Times, January 30, 1893.

From From the Heart

Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us? Luke 24:32.

After Christ’s death two disciples, on their way to Emmaus from Jerusalem, were talking over the scenes of the crucifixion. Christ Himself drew near, unrecognized by the sorrowing travelers. Their faith had died with their Lord, and their eyes, blinded by unbelief, did not recognize their risen Savior. Jesus, walking by their side, longed to reveal Himself to them, but He accosted them merely as fellow travelers, saying “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?” Astonished at the question, they asked if He were a stranger in Jerusalem and had not heard that a prophet, mighty in word and deed, had been crucified. “We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel,” they said, sadly.

“O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken,” Christ said; “ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” …

The disciples had lost sight of the precious promises linked with the prophecies of Christ’s death, but when these were brought to their remembrance, faith revived; and after Christ had revealed Himself to them, they exclaimed, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” …

If we would search the Scriptures, our hearts would burn within us as the truths revealed therein are opened to our understanding. Our hopes would brighten as we claim the precious promises strewn like pearls through the Sacred Writings. As we study the history of patriarchs and prophets, men who loved and feared God, walking with Him, our souls would glow with the spirit that animated them….

The question is asked, What is the cause of the dearth of spiritual power in the churches? The answer is, We allow our minds to be drawn away from the Word…. The Word of the living God is not merely written, but spoken. It is God’s voice speaking to us, just as surely as if we could hear it with our ears. If we realized this, with what awe we would open God’s Word, and with what earnestness we would search its pages.—The Review and Herald, March 31, 1903.

From From the Heart