This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Philippians 3:13-15.

Yesterday was Christmas. Did you do as the Wise Men did by offering your gifts to Jesus? Or has the enemy changed the order of things, and directed the worship to himself? The gifts are now bestowed upon friends instead of Him who has made so great a sacrifice for us. All the gifts should flow in another channel, where they could be used in the salvation of men.

The new year is just before us. Shall not the gifts be turned to a better account than heretofore? Shall not confession be made and shall we not avail ourselves of the blood of Christ, who is able and willing to cleanse from all sin? For our sakes Christ became poor.

In the last great day we shall be judged in accordance with what we have done. Christ will say, “I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?” (Matthew 25:42-44). Christ will then say, “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me” (verse 45). And Christ will say, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (verse 41).

Christ came and set the example in sacrificing, and if we are Christ’s, then we will do the works of Christ. Instead of pleasing ourselves, we will be seeking to do others good, and to impart benefits to suffering humanity. And unless this is done, we cannot expect to have a part with Christ.

There are souls to be saved all around us, and each has a work to do to be reconciled to Christ. This is the work to take hold of in the new year. We are living for time and eternity, and we want the light to flash upon our pathway and in return we want to extend its blessings to others….

Let each strive to have a better record for the coming year, and live so near to God that you may be surrounded with the atmosphere of heaven, and thus be a representative of Christ.—Manuscript 60, December 26, 1886, a sermon preached in the Tramelan, Switzerland, town hall, John Vuilleumier translating.

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All the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2:21, 22.

If we do not respond to the light given and render corresponding obedience, keeping our souls in the love of God, abiding in Christ, that which to us would become a blessing becomes a curse. It is the deceiver, not the Spirit of truth, that makes us believe that we cannot become pure and holy, a powerful people separate from the world, united in love and union with one another through Christ. We need not expect any other portion than that which was given to our Lord. According to the heart service given to God will be the enmity of Satan against the followers of Jesus; and the children of God are more wise and powerful when the wisdom and influence of the world are arrayed against us than when they are engaged in favor and fellowship with them….

The Jewish Temple was built of hewn stones, and at great expense of time and money and labor these stones were cut out of the mountain and fitted for their places in the building before they were collected together, so that when the building was completed there was not the sound of an ax or hammer heard in its upbuilding. The stones which are in God’s sacred temple are not collected from the mountains of Judea but gathered from the nations, kindreds and tongues and people. They are not lifeless material that must be prepared with hammer and chisel, but living stones which emit light. The great cleaver of truth has taken them from the quarry of the world and placed them under the hand of the great Master Builder, the Lord of the temple, and He is polishing them in His workshop, which is this world, that all the rough edges and crookedness may be removed and they hammered and chiseled and squared by the truth of God, polished and refined, ready to fill their place in God’s spiritual temple, that they may grow up a holy temple for God.

Now we are in the workshop of God, and the process is going on in these hours of probation to fit us for the glorious temple. We cannot now be indifferent and negligent and careless, and refuse to depart from sin, but we must be dying to our defects of character and expect to become pure and holy and fashioned in character after the similitude of a palace. When Christ shall come, it is then … too late to obtain a holy character. Now is the day of preparation; now is the time when we can have our defects removed; now is the time when our sins must go beforehand to judgment, be confessed and repented of and pardon written off against our names.—Letter 60, December 25, 1886, to John Corliss and wife, pioneer workers in Australia.

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And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Malachi 3:17.

Christians are Christ’s jewels, bought with an infinite price. They are to shine brightly for Him, shedding forth the light of His loveliness. And ever they are to remember that all the luster that Christian character possesses is received from the Sun of Righteousness.

The luster of Christ’s jewels depends on the polishing that they receive. God does not compel us to be polished. We are left free to choose to be polished or to remain unpolished. But everyone who is pronounced worthy of a place in the Lord’s temple must submit to the polishing process. He must consent to have the sharp edges cut away from his character, that it may be shapely and beautiful, fitted to represent the perfection of Christ’s character….

The divine Worker spends little time on worthless material. Only the precious jewels does He polish after the similitude of a palace. With hammer and chisel He cuts away the rough edges, preparing us for a place in God’s temple. The process is severe and trying. It hurts human pride. Christ cuts deep into the experience that man in his self-sufficiency regarded as complete, and takes away self-uplifting from the character. He cuts away the surplus surface, and putting the stone to the polishing wheel, presses it close, that all roughness may be worn off. Then holding the jewel up to the light the Master sees in it a reflection of His own image, and it is pronounced worthy of a place in His temple.

Blessed be the experience, however severe, that gives new value to the stone, enabling it to shine with living brightness! …

[The Lord] has workers whom He will call forth from poverty and obscurity. Engaged in the common duties of life, and clothed with coarse raiment, they are looked upon by men as of little value. But Christ sees in them infinite possibilities, and in His hands they will become precious jewels, to shine brightly in the kingdom of God. “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of Host, in that day when I make up my jewels.” (Malachi 3:17).

Christ’s perfect knowledge of human character fits Him to deal with minds. God knows just how to treat each soul. He judges not as man judges. He knows the real value of the material upon which He is working in fitting men and women for positions of trust.—Manuscript 168, December 24, 1902, “The Sin of Evil-speaking.”

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Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22.

Let all be educated to search the Scriptures, to be constantly looking unto Jesus, and not to human agents, to be their guide. The Word of God is to be the man of our counsel. That Word is infinite. Obeyed, it will guide us into safe and sure paths. But the Word diluted with human devices and imaginings is not a safe guide….

Take the Word of God individually. We may meet Satan with the weapon, “It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matthew 4:10). The Bible is the great mine of truth, which we are to work as those seeking for hidden treasure. In no case is the attention to be diverted from that Word….

In this time above all others, every soul needs to have the eyes anointed with eyesalve, that he may see. God gives no one a mission that will cheapen and lower His work for these last days. He calls upon us to bring it up, to elevate, ennoble, honor, and advance His truth, revealing His wisdom as supreme. Talk Bible truth, and bring from the treasure house things new and old. Talk the principles of our faith firmly and constantly, giving a Thus saith the Scriptures.

Living the truth, practicing the lessons of Christ, always refines, ennobles, and sanctifies the soul. My burden is to uplift men and women by uplifting Jesus before them. When God is recognized as the theme of all thoughts, as the object of love, reverence, and worship; when the Lord Jesus, the Pattern, is kept before the mind, the heart is being cleansed from all moral defilement. Then the soul becomes an accurate judge of propriety of action; every attitude is touched with grace.

The sense of personal accountability to a personal, all-seeing God places every human agent on elevated ground; and there will be deep thinking and genuine self-denial on every point, because God is working on the hearts of the children of His love, who are His heritage.

The love of God ever tends to the fear of God—fear to offend Him. Those who are truly converted will not venture heedlessly upon the borders of any evil, lest they grieve the Spirit of God and are left to their own way, to be filled with their own doings. The Word of God is the Guidebook; turn not from its pages to depend upon the human agent. That Book contains the warnings, the admonitions, from God, the rebuke of every evil, the clear definition of sin as the transgression of the law which is God’s great standard of virtue and holiness…. Not one who will study the Word of God and apply its teachings will miss the way.—Letter 4, December 23, 1893, to “Dear Brethren and Sisters.”

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And [ye] are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. Ephesians 2:20.

None need to feel it too humiliating to … present themselves as seeking at the throne of grace for larger supplies. The temple doors are to be opened. The temple of the soul is to be cleansed from moral defilement, altars of sacrifice set right, selfishness cleansed away from the soul, idols sacrificed….

We frequently have brought to our notice cases of youth who are bewildered by the teachers and the ministry of the Word in the churches of today, because they are doing as the Jewish nation did, “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” … The Bible is taken as a whole [as] the Word of God, but not all the Inspired Word. One wise man questions some portions of it and some other wise, supposed good man questions another book, and infidelity is stealthily making itself a place in the minds of youth. Soon the knowledge of the truth weakens and their faith is confused. They do not know what to believe….

When one places his feet on the solid Rock Christ Jesus as his foundation, he receives an endowment of power from the Source of all knowledge, all wisdom and spiritual efficiency, that all may know to which party he belongs—commandment-keepers, or commandment-breakers. The banner of Prince Emmanuel that floats over his head will not fail to clear away all uncertainty and give all to understand that we keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The love of Jesus Christ possesses a constraining power….

The living out of Bible truth gives a direct and powerful tendency to expansion and growth. Every virtue becomes invigorated as it is exercised. It is a sore trial to drag ourselves away from worldly, deceiving influences. Every step that we advance we see obstacles that Satan presents, and we have to wrestle with difficulties, but an experience is being gained in having to press against these barriers, for the way opens, fresh incentives are presented from heaven, and faith becomes confirmed as we look upon Christ.

The attractions of Christ are all-satisfying, and through Christ Jesus we read our title to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. His grace is seen to be all-sufficient. The sympathy and love of Jesus are beseeching, wooing, drawing us to follow on in His footsteps, to know the Lord until we shall know His going forth is prepared as the morning.—Letter 128, December 22, 1895, to Edson and Emma White.

From The Upward Look – Page 370