The Bible—God's Word to You, February 7

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. John 5:39.

“Search the scriptures.” This is the word which comes to us from Christ. If it had been essential for us to search the [church] Fathers, Christ would have told us so. But the Fathers do not all speak the same thing. Which of them shall we choose as a guide? There is no need for us to trust to uncertainty. We pass by the Fathers to learn of God out of His Word. This is life eternal, to know God. Oh, how thankful we should be that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Holy men of old wrote this Word as they were moved by the Spirit. God did not leave His Word to be preserved in the memories of men and handed down from generation to generation by oral transmission and traditional unfolding. Had He done this, the Word would gradually have been added to by men. We would have been asked to receive that which is not inspired. Let us thank God for His written word.

The commentaries written about the Word do not all agree. Often they come into collision with one another. God does not ask us to be guided by them. It is His Word with which we have to deal. All can search this Word for themselves. And they may know that the teaching of this precious book is unchangeable. The opinions of human beings differ, but the Bible always says the same thing. The Word of God is from everlasting to everlasting.

The Bible was not given only for ministers and learned men. Every man, woman, and child should read the Scriptures for himself or herself. Do not depend on the minister to read it for you. The Bible is God's Word to you. The poor man needs it as much as the rich man, the unlearned as much the learned. And Christ has made this Word so plain that in reading it no one need stumble. Let the humble cottager read and understand the Word given by the wisest Teacher the world has ever known, and among kings, governors, statesmen, and the world's most highly educated men there is none greater than He….

To search means to look diligently for something which has been lost. Search yourself for the hidden treasure. Do not leave this work to the minister. You cannot afford to be ignorant of the Word of God. Study the difficult passages, comparing verse with verse, and you will find that Scripture is the key which unlocks Scripture. Those who prayerfully study the Scriptures go from their study wiser than when they opened the Bible.—Manuscript 12, February 7, 1901, “The Living Water.”

Holy Spirit, Faithful Guide, February 6

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. John 16:7, 8.

Christ knew that this announcement [the coming of the Comforter] was a wonderful truth. He was nearing the close of His ministry upon this earth, and was standing in view of the cross, with a full realization of the load of guilt that must be placed upon Him as the Sin-bearer. Yet His greatest anxiety was for His disciples. He was seeking to find solace for them, and He told them, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7).

Evil had been accumulating for centuries, and could only be restrained and resisted by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. Another spirit must be met, for the essence of evil was working in all ways, and the submission of man to this satanic captivity was amazing.

Today, as in Christ's day, Satan rules the minds of many. O that his terrible, fearful work could be discerned and resisted. Selfishness has perverted principles, selfishness has confused the senses and clouded the judgment. It seems so strange that notwithstanding all the light that is shining from God's blessed Word, there should be such strange ideas held, such a departure from the spirit and practice of the truth….

Sins which have from time to time been pointed out are lying at the door of many, sins which the Lord regards as of no light character. If men would only give up their spirit of resistance to the Holy Spirit, the spirit which has long been leavening their religious experience, God's Spirit would address itself to their hearts. It would convince of sin. What a work! But the Holy Spirit has been insulted and light has been rejected….

It is not the will of God that any shall perish, but that all shall have everlasting life. O could I be assured that … my brethren would feel a sense of what pure principles mean to them and to all with whom they are associated, my heart would leap with joy….

Every soul that will accept Jesus as his personal Saviour will pant for the privilege of serving God, and will eagerly seize the opportunity to signalize his gratitude by devoting his abilities to God's service.—Letter 8, February 6, 1896, to “My Brethren in America.”

Time to Wake Up! February 5

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not. 1 Corinthians 15:33, 34.

Brethren and sisters, wake up, wake up! Proclaim the gospel in its simplicity. Listen as for your life to “what saith the Scriptures.” It is of supreme importance that you hear aright, that you purify your hearts from selfishness, for your eternal welfare is at stake. Are you seeking for the Pearl of Great Price? Are you guarding yourselves against the deceptions of Satan, or do you stand ready to receive the suggestions of those who have departed from the faith, and given heed to seducing spirits? Your salvation depends on your hearing aright, and receiving with meekness the engrafted Word.

Will you be reconciled to God, and obey His commandments, that you may be sanctified, body, soul, and spirit? You have been bought with a price, by the death of the only begotten Son of God. Your heart beats on. On that pulsation depends your life. Its beating is independent of your will. You eat and sleep in careless indifference. But God's guardian care over you is unceasing. He controls the ebb and flow of the vital current. Where is the gratitude that should rise from human lips for His preserving care? Where is the recognition of His unceasing watchfulness? …

Wake up, wake up! Put away your pride, and forsake your noncommittal position. Your testing time has come, and you must take sides with Christ or against Him. On which side are you standing? With the world, or with Christ? Are you receiving the truth and preparing to speak a word in season to arrest the attention of the careless and the indifferent? God demands decided changes in your attitude. The truth you possess is the word of the living God. What are you doing to meet the claims of the gospel? Is it your highest desire to learn the will of Him who gave Himself for you in self-denial and sacrifice, that you might become sons and daughters of God? Are you seeking to arouse souls to take an interest in eternal realities?

Now is your time to learn how to work earnestly and intelligently for the salvation of those ready to perish. Make no compromise with the powers of darkness. Learn the claims of the law of God, and obey them heartily. Then your life will shine forth brightly amidst the spiritual darkness of the world.—Letter 32, February 5, 1907, to the church members in and about Melbourne, Australia.

Today Is the Day of Salvation, February 4

For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2.

How thankful we all should be that it is not yet too late for wrongs to be righted! It is our solemn duty to reveal love for God not only in our words, but in deed and in truth.

God calls at this time for skillful workers who will always be found on the side of the Chief Worker. We must have truth in the heart, and love for Christ. “Whosoever will come after me,” He says, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). We have each an individual work to do in denying self and in working out our own salvation with fear and trembling….

Every soul who places himself on the side of Christ will be tempted with all the power of Satan's seductive influence. The grace of God can renew your heart, brace you against temptation, and give you earnest longings for the Spirit of God….

God will soon vindicate His justice before the universe. His justice requires that sin shall be punished; His mercy grants that sin shall be pardoned through repentance and confession. Pardon can come only through His only begotten Son; Christ alone can expiate sin—and then only when sin is repented of and forsaken. Man has severed his connection with God, and his soul has become palsied and strengthless by the deadly poison of sin. But there was a time when the proclamation sounded through the heavenly courts, I have found a ransom! A divine life is given as man's ransom; One equal with the Father has become man's substitute.

So ingenious are the plans that Satan lays to deceive and pervert, that the very blessings that come to us in the divine life may be turned into snares. By the same false reasoning by which he deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he seeks to turn the very blessings which God sends for our good into snares and a curse. He seeks to lead men to use God's gifts as weapons against the Giver.

God gave His only begotten Son to the human race that man might become a partaker of the divine nature by accepting the remedy for sin and allowing the divine grace of Christ to work in his life. The power of divinity working in humanity can bring man into right relation with God. Fallen man, by laying hold of the divine power brought within his reach, can become one with God. Everlasting life is the blessing that Christ came to give to the world.—Letter 38, February 4, 1907, to a former worker faltering in the Battle Creek pantheism crisis.

Not My Will, but Thine, February 3

And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Matthew 26:39.

We may mark out a course for ourselves which may be born of our own ambitions or of some selfish purposes. The Lord knows the end from the beginning. He understands the relation that each man should sustain to God and to his fellow man. The Lord may see that one man's connection with men of a certain disposition or character will affect those with whom he associates to their injury. He may not be one who can reason clearly from cause to effect. The men with whom he is brought in connection may be just the ones who will not help him where he needs help.

The linking together of certain elements may produce unfavorable results. Therefore man cannot trust to his own judgment. Experience will convince him of his mistake. The Lord purposes that which will be the greatest spiritual benefit to the soul which is in the balances, ready to begin some new enterprise which means more than he himself anticipates. What should such an one do? His only safety lies in putting his preferences and his plans on one side, saying, “Not my will, but Thy will, O Lord, be done.” …

In the smallest as well as the largest matters, the first great question is, What is God's will in the matter; for His will is my will. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? One man may be required by God to do a work and stand in a position that is peculiarly trying and taxing. The Lord has a work for him to do and he risks his life, his future eternal life, in standing in that place. This was the position Christ occupied when He came to our world, entering into conflict with the rebel leader of the fallen angels. God devised a plan, and Christ accepted the position. He consented to meet the foe singlehanded, as every human being must do. He was provided with all the heavenly powers to aid Him in this great conflict; and man, if he walked in the way and will of God, is provided with the same keeping power. The same heavenly intelligences minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation, that they may overcome every temptation, great or small, as Christ overcame. But anyone who places himself in a position of peril from any motive but obedience to the will of God will fall under the power of temptation….

No one is secure who thinks it is his privilege to choose for himself.—Letter 22, February 3, 1899, to a businessman.