Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. 1 Peter 4:12.

Our daily experience with Christ should be of the highest value to us. We have an individual part to act in His service. Our blessed Saviour has given us … precious promises for our encouragement. He desires us to know that He is watching over us, and that He will teach us what He expects us to do. If the enemy comes to us in the morning, or during the day, with annoyances, let us remember these precious promises, and not allow ourselves to be ruffled. Let us remember that we are Christ’s representatives, and that we must not, by word or act, offend one another.

Do you think that perhaps no trials will arise? Certainly there will be trials. If there were not, you might rejoice that you had no devil to tempt you. But you will have temptations till the very close of time. Therefore you need to keep in close companionship with Christ. His angels are commissioned to watch over you. They are your appointed guardians. If someone says something that tends to provoke you, remember that at such a time silence is eloquence. Do not respond in a manner to retaliate. It will be better to say nothing than to speak unadvisedly. We will all have our battles to fight, though these struggles may vary in character, according to our disposition and our experience.

Let us rejoice that Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to lay hold upon divinity. When we feel exceedingly tried, let us remember that there is a heavenly angel by our side. This thought will help us to honor Christ, who has made it possible for us to become sons and daughters of God. Unless we are constantly on our guard, we may be caught unawares, and speak hastily. It may then be impossible for us to remove the impression from the minds of those to whom we have spoken, for some do not desire to get rid of such impressions. They seem to delight in cherishing evil. Let us, by keeping our words in harmony with the instructions the Saviour has given us, not give them any occasion for offense.

As we come in contact with varying dispositions, we shall undoubtedly find great provocation to speak unkindly. But remember that at such times silence is often eloquence. If you refrain from retaliating when you are provoked by others, you will surprise them. And, if repeatedly you preserve your dignity under provocation, they will realize that you are in connection with a higher Power.—Manuscript 55, August 16, 1909, “Lessons From the Sermon on the Mount,” a talk given for morning worship at Madison (Wisconsin) Sanitarium.

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Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity. Isaiah 58:9.

Last night I had a wonderful experience. I was [in the visions of the night] in an assembly where questions were being asked and answered. I awoke at one o’clock and arose. For a time I walked the room, praying most earnestly for clearness of mind, for strength of eyesight, and for strength to write the things that must be written. I entreated the Lord to help me to bear a testimony that would awake His people before it is forever too late. I was glad that there was no one in the room below me. Sara [McEnterfer] and Maggie [Hare] usually occupy this room, but during the summer they sleep in a tent pitched under a great live-oak tree growing close by the house….

We are nearing the end of this earth’s history, and the different lines of God’s work are to be carried forward with much more self-sacrifice than they have yet been. The work for these last days is a missionary work. Present truth, from the first letter of its alphabet to the last, means missionary effort. The work to be done calls for sacrifice at every step of advance. The workers are to come forth from trial purified and refined, as gold tried in the fire….

I cannot now write all the instruction given me. These words were spoken: “Some are reckless, insensible of the results of sin, heedless of warning. Soon the handwriting on the wall, now unintelligible to them, will be read. But, like Belshazzar, they seem unable to see their peril. A straight testimony must be borne to our churches and institutions, to arouse the sleeping ones.” …

The experience that I had last night has impressed me very deeply. I seemed to have Christ close beside me. I was filled with hope and courage and faith and love for souls. I pleaded with God to sustain me, and He lifted me up, and made me to triumph in Him. I know that the Lord will work for His people when they will sanctify their souls by obeying the truth. Then the whole being, body, mind, and soul, will be in harmony with God. Loving God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves, we shall possess a freedom crowned with glory.

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).—Letter 130, August 15, 1902, to Edson White.

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If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Zechariah 3:7.

The future of the church depends on the efforts made by its members to understand the sinfulness of selfishness, and their willingness to take the remedy which will cure the disease from which they are suffering. Let a reformation take place, that those who accept the truth in the future shall not be contaminated by the corrupting influence of Satan….

Many who are condemned by men are vindicated by God. Many who are exalted by human judgment are by God pronounced to be wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Human judgment often errs. Often man condemns his brother because his discernment is defective. God looks at the heart. He reads the motives which prompt to action.

God prompts the question, “Ought I to do this?” Satan leads man to say, “I can.” Right is a loyal subject. Might is a haughty tyrant, leading to warfare, the scourge of the world. Right is a representation of the perfect man in Christ Jesus. It is the foundation of all righteousness and peace—the oil which fills the divine flagons….

There is a work to be done among the churches of Seventh-day Adventists that has not yet been done. Ministering angels are waiting to see who will take up the work in the right spirit…. Let all humble themselves before God, asking for grace and wisdom, that they may see wherein they have violated His holy law. Unless His Spirit enlightens them, they will never know, even though it is set before them by their brethren. Those who refuse to come into right relation to God, who will not obey the rules of His government, do not bear His mark….

The Lord is merciful. He does not chastise His people because He hates them, but because He hates the sins they are committing. He must chastise them, that they may return to their loyalty. He designs their punishment to be a warning to them and to others. No one need walk in darkness. No one need say, “Specify to me the precise wrongs of which I am guilty.” To those who say this, I give the word of the Lord: “Search prayerfully, and you will know.”

If the warnings and reproofs given in the Word of God and in the testimonies of His Spirit are not plain enough, what words would be sufficiently plain to bring about a revival and a reformation?—Manuscript 108, August 14, 1901, “Diary.”

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I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2.

Do not criticize others. The spirit of criticism is eating away the very vitals of the people of God. We cannot afford to pile up rubbish. Heaven sees the work that is going on of piling up the rubbish of words. Suppose we decided not to add anything to this pile of heedless, vain, and foolish words? We have a most sacred, solemn work to do….

The piles of rubbish that have been accumulating need to be removed. How? Let us “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). Cultivate personal piety. God would have us inquire, “Who hath known the mind of the Lord?” that He may instruct us, and that we may be able to say, “We have the mind of Christ.” Then all the rubbish of evil words will be removed. May the Lord imbue us with His Spirit, and touch our lips with a burning coal from the altar. Earnestly, vigilantly watching and waiting and working, we are to be “not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).

The church is the one object of Christ’s intense interest in this world, and for which He has unceasing care. This church is engaged in securing the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life to all who receive it. In every soul God looks for stable principles revealed in word and action. Then they will bring from the treasure house words weighted with the principles of eternal truth.

We have no time to praise the devil, no time nor voice to criticize. We are to show that the grace of Christ is abiding in our hearts. Its influence will be revealed, whatever company we are in, by words of deepest importance, involving consequences as enduring as eternity.

At this period of the earth’s history we cannot afford to weaken one another’s influence. The Christian warfare is close and severe. We have to meet and battle with unseen foes, and we must be in harmony with the heavenly agencies, who are seeking to cleanse us from the inclination to criticize our brethren, to pass judgment on them. The Lord desires us to stand under the yoke of Christ….

We are to believe and love the truth for Christ’s sake. We must rise higher and higher in purity [and] knowledge. We are Christ’s witnesses. Then let us not talk of difficulties or ponder over our trials, but come close to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. By beholding Him, studying and talking of Him, we become transformed into His image.—Letter 119, August 13, 1899, to a husband-and-wife team working in the Southern States.

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And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2:10.

We are to live in the warm, genial rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Nothing but His loving compassion, His divine grace, His almighty power, can enable us to baffle the relentless foe and subdue the opposition of the human heart. What is our strength? The joy of the Lord. Let the melting love of Christ fill the heart, and we are softened and subdued, prepared to receive the power that He has for us.

Let us thank God every day for the blessings that are ours. If the human agent will humble himself before God, realizing how inappropriate it is for him to cherish a feeling of self-sufficiency; realizing his utter inability to do the work that needs to be done in order for his soul to be purified, casting away, making of no account, his own righteousness, Christ will engrave His own image upon his soul….

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. The true penitent has learned the uselessness of self-importance. Looking to Jesus, comparing his own defective character with the Saviour’s perfect character, he can say, In my hand no price I bring;Simply to Thy cross I cling.

With Isaiah he declares, “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” (Isaiah 26:12, 13).

Beholding Christ for the purpose of becoming like Him, the seeker after truth sees the perfection of the principles of God’s law, and he becomes dissatisfied with everything but perfection. Hiding his life in the life of Christ, he sees that the holiness of the divine law is revealed in the character of Christ, and more and more earnestly he strives to be like Him. A warfare may be expected at any time, for the tempter sees that he is losing one of his subjects. A battle must be fought with the attributes which Satan has been strengthening for his own use.

The human agent sees what he has to contend with—a strange power opposed to the idea of attaining the perfection that Christ holds out. But with Christ there is saving power that will gain for him victory in the conflict. The Saviour will strengthen and help him as he comes pleading for grace and efficiency.—Manuscript 89, August 12, 1903, “First Be Reconciled to Thy Brother.”

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