“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.”—Matthew 4:16

We must pray more, and walk more humbly and more by faith. Christ was perfect in His humanity, and the more faith we have in Him as our sufficiency, the more humbly we walk with God, and the more entire our consecration, the less intrusion of self will there be between God and humanity. The grace of Christ must be an abiding presence in the soul day by day. Only thus can we endure the seeing of Him who is invisible.

Christ came to our world to manifest God to men and women, to lead them to God. “I am the light of the world,” He declared (John 8:12). What was it that consecrated Him the Light of the world? It was this. He came down from heaven. He is the true Teacher sent from God. He was the One chosen to reveal God’s character to the world. He is the bright and morning Star. He is the Sun of Righteousness, a Light to Lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His people Israel. John declared of Him, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9).

We may ask of our Lord, knowing that we shall receive. We need more of Christ’s humility and meekness, that we may have fervent charity among ourselves; then we may pray, then we may intercede with God. Thus we shall prove the truth of the word, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him” (Psalm 25:14). But those whom the Lord would use are in great danger of getting on human stilts. There is earnest work to be done. There is need of walking with God. Then tracts right to the point will be issued.

Prayer and faith will do what no power upon earth can accomplish. We need not be so anxious and troubled. The human agent cannot go everywhere and do everything that needs to be done. Often imperfections manifest themselves in the work, but if we show unwavering trust in God, not depending upon the ability or talent of human beings, the truth will advance. Let us place all things in God’s hands, leaving Him to do the work in His own way according to His own will, through whomsoever He may choose. Those who seem to be weak God will use if they are humble.—Manuscript 120, 1898.

Further Reflection: How have prayer and faith affected the way in which I witness for Christ? How have these spiritual blessings changed my walk with God?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

“Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!”—Matthew 25:6

The coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy place, for the cleansing of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel 8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple, foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage, described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25.

In the summer and autumn of 1844 the proclamation, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh,” was given. The two classes represented by the wise and foolish virgins were then developed—one class who looked with joy to the Lord’s appearing, and who had been diligently preparing to meet Him; another class that, influenced by fear and acting from impulse, had been satisfied with a theory of the truth, but were destitute of the grace of God. In the parable, when the bridegroom came, “they that were ready went in with him to the marriage.” The coming of the bridegroom, here brought to view, takes place before the marriage. The marriage represents the reception by Christ of His kingdom. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem, which is the capital and representative of the kingdom, is called “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Said the angel to John: “Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” “He carried me away in the spirit,” says the prophet, “and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:9, 10). Clearly, then, the bride represents the Holy City, and the virgins that go out to meet the bridegroom are a symbol of the church. In the Revelation the people of God are said to be the guests at the marriage supper (Revelation 19:9). If guests, they cannot be represented also as the bride. Christ, as stated by the prophet Daniel, will receive from the Ancient of Days in heaven, “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom;” He will receive the New Jerusalem, the capital of His kingdom, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Daniel 7:14; Revelation 21:2). Having received the kingdom, He will come in His glory, as King of kings and Lord of lords, for the redemption of His people who are to … partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb.—The Great Controversy, 426, 427.

Further Reflection: What would it be like to share a meal with Jesus alone?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.—Hebrews 11:27

The education that Moses had received in Egypt was a help to him in many respects; but the most valuable preparation for his lifework was that which he received while employed as a shepherd. Moses was naturally of an impetuous spirit. In Egypt a successful military leader and a favorite with the king and the nation, he had been accustomed to receiving praise and flattery. He had attracted the people to himself. He hoped to accomplish by his own powers the work of delivering Israel. Far different were the lessons he had to learn as God’s representative. As he led his flocks through the wilds of the mountains and into the green pastures of the valleys, he learned faith and meekness, patience, humility, and self-forgetfulness. He learned to care for the weak, to nurse the sick, to seek after the straying, to bear with the unruly, to tend the lambs, and to nurture the old and the feeble.

In this work Moses was drawn nearer to the Chief Shepherd. He became closely united to the Holy One of Israel. No longer did he plan to do a great work. He sought to do faithfully as unto God the work committed to his charge. He recognized the presence of God in his surroundings. All nature spoke to him of the Unseen One. He knew God as a personal God, and, in meditating upon His character he grasped more and more fully the sense of His presence….

After this experience, Moses heard the call from heaven to exchange his shepherd’s crook for the rod of authority; to leave his flock of sheep and take the leadership of Israel. The divine command found him self-distrustful, slow of speech, and timid. He was overwhelmed with a sense of his incapacity to be a mouthpiece for God. But he accepted the work, putting his whole trust in the Lord. The greatness of his mission called into exercise the best powers of his mind. God blessed his ready obedience, and he became eloquent, hopeful, self-possessed, fitted for the greatest work ever given to human beings. Of him it is written: “There hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom Jehovah knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10, A.R.V.).—The Ministry of Healing, 474, 475.

Further Reflection: What have I learned that I must I unlearn in order to do greater service for God?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

“Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”—Mark 6:31

Christ spoke no words revealing His importance, or showing His superiority; He did not ignore His fellow beings. He made no assumptions of authority because of His relation to God, but His words and actions showed Him to be possessed of a knowledge of His mission and character. He spoke of heavenly things as one to whom everything heavenly was familiar. He spoke of His intimacy and oneness with the Father as a child would speak of its connection with its parents. He spoke as one who had come to enlighten the world with His glory. He never patronized the schools of the rabbis, for He was the Teacher sent by God to instruct humanity. As one in whom all restorative power is found, Christ spoke of drawing all humanity unto Him, and of giving them life everlasting. In Him there is power to heal every physical and spiritual disease.

Christ came to our world with a consciousness of more than human greatness, to accomplish a work that was to be infinite in its results. Where do you find Him when doing this work? In the house of Peter the fisherman; resting by Jacob’s well, telling the Samaritan woman of the living water. He generally taught in the open air; but sometimes in the temple, for He attended the gatherings of the Jewish people. But oftenest He taught when sitting on a mountainside, or in a fisherman’s boat. He entered into the lives of these humble fishermen. His sympathy was enlisted in behalf of the needy, the suffering, the despised; and many were attracted to Him.

When the plan of redemption was laid, it was decided that Christ should not appear in accordance with His divine character, for then He could not associate with the distressed and the suffering. He must come as a poor man. He could have appeared in accordance with His exalted station in the heavenly courts; but no; He must reach to the very lowest depths of human suffering and poverty, that His voice might be heard by the burdened and disappointed, that to the weary, sin-sick soul He might reveal Himself as the Restorer, the Desire of all nations, the Rest-giver. And to those who are longing for rest and peace today, just as truly as those who listened to His words in Judea, He is saying, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).—Manuscript 14, 1897.

Further Reflection: How willing am I to give up the privileges of status to serve those in need?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.—Colossians 1:17

All the disciples had serious faults when Jesus called them to His service. Even John, who came into closest association with the meek and lowly One, was not himself naturally meek and yielding. He and his brother were called “the sons of thunder.” While they were with Jesus, any slight shown to Him aroused their indignation and combativeness. Evil temper, revenge, the spirit of criticism, were all in the beloved disciple. He was proud, and ambitious to be first in the kingdom of God. But day by day, in contrast with his own violent spirit, he beheld the tenderness and forbearance of Jesus, and heard His lessons of humility and patience. He opened his heart to the divine influence, and became not only a hearer but a doer of the Saviour’s words. Self was hid in Christ. He learned to wear the yoke of Christ and to bear His burden.

Jesus reproved His disciples, He warned and cautioned them; but John and his brethren did not leave Him; they chose Jesus, notwithstanding the reproofs. The Saviour did not withdraw from them because of their weakness and errors. They continued to the end to share His trials and to learn the lessons of His life. By beholding Christ, they became transformed in character.

The apostles differed widely in habits and disposition. There were the publican, Levi-Matthew, and the fiery zealot Simon, the uncompromising hater of the authority of Rome; the generous, impulsive Peter, and the mean-spirited Judas; Thomas, true-hearted, yet timid and fearful, Philip, slow of heart, and inclined to doubt, and the ambitious, outspoken sons of Zebedee, with their brethren. These were brought together, with their different faults, all with inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil; but in and through Christ they were to dwell in the family of God, learning to become one in faith, in doctrine, in spirit. They would have their tests, their grievances, their differences of opinion; but while Christ was abiding in the heart, there could be no dissension. His love would lead to love for one another; the lessons of the Master would lead to the harmonizing of all differences, bringing the disciples into unity, till they would be of one mind and one judgment. Christ is the great center, and they would approach one another just in proportion as they approached the center.—The Desire of Ages, 295, 296.

Further Reflection: What has changed about me since I began walking with Jesus? Has my family noticed a difference?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names