Daily Devotional

March 13, 2019

To Find the Word Interesting, Receive the Spirit

Let my cry come before You, O Lord; give me understanding according to Your word. Psalm 119:169, NKJV.

The Bible has been placed in the background, while the sayings of great men and women, so-called, have been taken in its stead. May the Lord forgive us the slight we have put upon His Word. Though inestimable treasures are in the Bible, and it is like a mine full of precious ore, it is not valued, it is not searched, and its riches are not discovered.

Mercy and truth and love are valuable beyond our power to calculate; we cannot have too great a supply of these treasures, and it is in the Word of God [that] we find out how we may become possessors of these heavenly riches, and yet why is it that the Word of God is uninteresting to many professed Christians? Is it because the Word of God is not spirit and is not life? Has Jesus put upon us an uninteresting task, when He commands us to “search the scriptures”? Jesus says, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” But spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and the reason of your lack of interest is that you lack the Spirit of God.

When the heart is brought into harmony with the Word, a new life will spring up within you, a new light will shine upon every line of the Word, and it will become the voice of God to your soul. In this way you will take celestial observations, and know whither you are going, and be able to make the most of your privileges today.

We should ask the Lord to open our understanding, that we may comprehend divine truth. If we humble our hearts before God, empty them of vanity and pride and selfishness, through the grace abundantly bestowed upon us; if we sincerely desire and unwaveringly believe, the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness will shine into our minds, and illuminate our darkened understanding. Jesus is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He is the light of the world, and He bids us come unto Him and learn of Him…. He had come to seek and to save that which was lost, and He could not permit Himself to be turned from His one object. He allowed nothing to divert Him. This work He has given into our hands. Shall we do it? – The Review and Herald, November 24, 1891.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 109.

Daily Devotional

March 12, 2019

Learn the Truth, Then Live It

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11, NKJV.

Study the word, which God in His wisdom and love and goodness has made so plain and simple. The sixth chapter of John tells us what is meant by a study of the Word. The principles revealed in the Scriptures are to be brought home to the soul. We are to eat the Word of God; that is, we are not to depart from its precepts. We are to bring its truths into our daily lives, grasping the mysteries of godliness.

Pray to God. Commune with Him. Prove the very mind of God, as those who are striving for eternal life, and who must have a knowledge of His will. You can reveal the truth only as you know it in Christ. You are to receive and assimilate His words; they are to become part of yourselves. This is what is meant by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God. You are to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; that is, what God has revealed. Not all has been revealed; we could not bear such a revelation. But God has revealed all that is necessary for our salvation. We are not to leave His Word for the suppositions of human beings.

Obtain an experimental knowledge of God by wearing the yoke of Christ. He gives wisdom to the meek and lowly, enabling them to judge of what is truth, bringing to light the why and wherefore, pointing out the result of certain actions. The Holy Spirit teaches the students of the Scriptures to judge all things by the standard of righteousness and truth and justice. The divine revelation supplies them with the knowledge that they need….

Make the Bible the man of your counsel. Your acquaintance with it will grow rapidly if you keep your mind free from the rubbish of the world. The more the Bible is studied, the deeper will be your knowledge of God. The truths of His Word will be written in your soul, making an ineffaceable impression….

Not only will the students themselves be benefited by a study of the Word of God. Their study is life and salvation to all with whom they associate. They will feel a sacred responsibility to impart the knowledge that they receive. Their lives will reveal the help and strength that they receive from communion with the Word…. Of such ones the Lord Jesus can indeed say, “Ye are laborers together with God.” – Counsels on Health, 370-372.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 108.

Daily Devotional

March 11, 2019

To Grow, Study the Word

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, NRSV.

The teacher of the truth should advance in knowledge, growing in grace and in Christian experience, cultivating habits and practices which will do honor to God and to His Word. He or she should show others how to make a practical application of the Word. Every advance we make in sanctified ability, in varied studies, will help us to understand the Word of God; and the study of the Scriptures helps us in the study of the other branches essential in education.

After the first acquaintance with the Bible, the interest of earnest seekers grows rapidly. The discipline gained by a regular study of the Word of God enables them to see a freshness and beauty in truth that they never before discerned. Reference to texts, when speaking, becomes natural and easy to a Bible student.

Above everything else, it is essential for the teachers of the Word of God to seek most earnestly to possess themselves of the internal evidence of the Scriptures. Those who would be blessed with this evidence must search the Scriptures for themselves. As they learn the lessons given by Christ, and compare scripture with scripture, to see whether they themselves bear its credentials, they will obtain a knowledge of God’s Word, and the truth will write itself on their souls.

The truth is the truth. It is not to be wrapped up in beautiful adornings, that the outside appearance may be admired. The teacher is to make the truth clear and forcible to the understanding and to the conscience. The Word is a two-edged sword that cuts both ways. It does not tread as with soft, slippered feet.

There are many cases where people who have defended Christianity against skeptics have afterward lost their own souls in the mazes of skepticism. They caught the malaria, and died spiritually. They had strong arguments for the truth, and much outside evidence, but they did not have an abiding faith in Christ. Oh, there are thousands upon thousands of professed Christians who never study the Bible! Study the sacred Word prayerfully, for your own soul’s benefit. When you hear the word of living preachers, if they have a living connection with God, you will find that the Spirit and the word agree. – The Review and Herald, April 20, 1897.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 107.

Daily Devotional

March 10, 2019

Prepare Now for Immortal Life

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. Ephesians 1:17, 18, NKJV.

The best way to prevent the growth of evil is to preoccupy the soil. The greatest care and watchfulness is needed in cultivating the mind and sowing therein the precious seeds of Bible truth. The Lord, in His great mercy, has revealed to us in the Scriptures the rules of holy living. He tells us the sins to shun; He explains to us the plan of salvation, and points out the way to heaven. He has inspired holy men to record, for our benefit, instruction concerning the dangers that beset our path, and how to escape them. Those who obey His injunction to search the Scriptures will not be ignorant of these things. Amid the perils of the last days, members of the church should understand the reasons of their hope and faith – reasons which are not difficult of comprehension. There is enough to occupy the mind, if we would grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ….

If the Bible were studied as it should be, we would become strong in intellect. The subjects treated upon in the Word of God, the dignified simplicity of its utterance, the noble themes which it presents to the mind, develop faculties in us which cannot otherwise be developed….

God would have us avail ourselves of every means of cultivating and strengthening our intellectual powers. We were created for a higher, nobler existence than the life that now is. This time is one of preparation for the future, immortal life. Where can be found grander themes for contemplation, a more interesting subject for thought, than the sublime truths unfolded in the Bible? These truths will do a mighty work for us, if we will but follow what they teach….

If the Bible were read more, if its truths were better understood, we should be a far more enlightened and intelligent people. Energy is imparted to the soul by searching its pages. Angels from the world of light stand by the side of the earnest seeker after truth, to impress and illuminate the mind. All who are dark of understanding may find light through an acquaintance with the Scriptures. – Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 125, 126.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 106.

Daily Devotional

March 9, 2019

Reach for the Highest Standard of Personhood

Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth. Jeremiah 9:23, NRSV.

God is the source of all wisdom. He is infinitely wise and just and good. [Apart from Christ,] the wisest people that ever lived cannot comprehend Him. They may profess to be wise; they may glory in their attainments; but mere intellectual knowledge, aside from the great truths that center in Christ, is as nothingness….

If men and women could see for a moment beyond the [range of] finite vision, if they could catch a glimpse of the Eternal, every mouth would be stopped in its boasting. People living in this little atom of a world are finite; God has unnumbered worlds that are obedient to His laws and are conducted with reference to His glory. When human beings have gone as far in scientific research as their limited powers will permit, there is still an infinity beyond what they can apprehend.

Before humans can be truly wise, they must realize their dependence upon God, and be filled with His wisdom. God is the source of intellectual as well as spiritual power. The greatest people who have reached what the world regards as wonderful heights in science are not to be compared with the beloved John or the great apostle Paul. It is when intellectual and moral power are combined that the greatest standard of personhood is reached. Those who do this, God will accept as workers together with Him in the training of minds.

To know oneself is a great knowledge. The teachers who rightly estimate themselves will let God mold and discipline their minds. And they will acknowledge the source of their power. For “what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Self-knowledge leads to humility and to trust in God, but it does not take the place of efforts for self-improvement. Those who realize their own deficiencies will spare no pains to reach the highest possible standard of physical, mental, and moral excellence. – Special Testimonies On Education, 49, 50.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 105.