They desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:16.

As the [railroad] cars bore our company into the city of Denver, we were charmed in beholding one of the beautiful sunsets of Colorado. The sun was passing behind the snowcapped mountains, leaving its softened beams of golden light to tint the heavens. As the blending tints were deepening and extending athwart the skies, with indescribable beauty, it seemed the gates of heaven were ajar to let the gleamings of its glory through. The golden hues were every moment more and more entrancing, as if to invite our imagination to picture the greater glory within…. If this so charms our senses, what must be the fullness of the glory in heaven itself….

Heaven seemed very near…. As the eye was turned from the dazzling glories of the closing day, we could but reflect that should we see more of heaven by the eye of faith, greater light, more peace and joy, would be all along life’s pathway…. If the eye of faith were uplifted to see through the veil of the future and discern the tokens of God’s love and glory in the promised life beyond, we should be more spiritually minded, and the beauties and joys of heaven would mingle with our daily life. We should be fitting up for the faithful performance of our work in this life, and for the higher life beyond….

Our heavenly Father has hung out glories in the firmament of the heavens, that we may have an expression of His love in the revealing of His wondrous works. God would not have us indifferent to the symbols of the glories of His infinite power in the heavens. David delighted to dwell upon these glories. He composed psalms which the Hebrew singers chanted to the praise of God. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork…. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.” …

All the powers of our being, every means of our existence and happiness, all the blessings of the warm sunshine and the refreshing showers, causing vegetation to flourish, every comfort and every blessing of this life, come from God. He sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. The treasures of heaven are poured out to all.—Signs of the Times, December 12, 1878.

From From the Heart

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2.

Today, as in the past, all heaven is watching to see the church develop in the true science of salvation. Christ has bought the church with His blood, and He longs to clothe her with salvation. He has made her the depositary of sacred truth, and He wishes her to partake of His glory. But in order that the church may be an educating power in the world, she must cooperate with the church in heaven. Her members must represent Christ. Their hearts must be open to receive every ray of light that God may see fit to impart. As they receive this light, they will be enabled to receive and impart more and more of the rays of the Sun of Righteousness.

There is need of a higher grade of spirituality in the church. There is need of heart purification. God calls His people to their posts of duty. He calls upon them to purge themselves from that which has been revealed as the bane of the churches—an exalting of those who are placed in positions of trust. There is earnest work to be done. Upon their knees men and women are to seek God in faith and then go forth to speak the word with power sent down from on high. Such believers come before the people direct from the audience-chamber of the Most High, and their words and works promote spirituality. When they come in contact with wrong principles, they plant their feet firmly upon the words, “It is written.” …

The church today needs laborers who, like Enoch, walk with God, revealing Christ to the world. Church members need to reach a higher standard…. Our views of the Sun of Righteousness are clouded by self-seeking. Christ is crucified afresh by many who through self-indulgence allow Satan to gain control over them. The church needs men and women of devotion to bear to the world the message of salvation, pointing sinners to the Lamb of God—workers who, by their works of righteousness and their pure, true words, can lift those around them out of the pit of degradation.

With pity and compassion, with tender yearning and love, the Lord is looking upon His tempted and tried people…. It is God’s purpose that all shall be tested and tried, that He may see whether they are loyal or disloyal to the laws that govern the kingdom of heaven. To the last, God permits Satan to reveal himself as a liar, an accuser, and a murderer. Thus the final triumph of His people is made more marked, more glorious, more full and complete.—The Review and Herald, December 4, 1900.

From From the Heart

The temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 1 Corinthians 3:17.

The church on earth is God’s temple, and it is to assume divine proportions before the world. This building is to be the light of the world. It is to be composed of living stones laid close together, stone fitting to stone, making a solid building. All these stones are not of the same shape or dimension. Some are large and some are small, but each one has it own place to fill. In the whole building there is not to be one misshapen stone. Each one is perfect. And each stone is a living stone, a stone that emits light. The value of the stones is determined by the light they reflect to the world.

Now is the time for the stones to be taken from the quarry of the world and brought into God’s workshop to be hewed, squared, and polished, that they may shine. This is God’s plan, and He desires all who profess to believe the truth to fill their respective places in the great, grand work for this time….

It is God’s design that His church shall ever advance in purity and knowledge, from light to light, from glory to glory…. His church is the court of holy life, filled with varied gifts and endowed with the Holy Spirit. Appropriate duties are assigned by Heaven to the church on earth, and the members are to find their happiness in the happiness of those whom they help and bless.

Through the ages of moral darkness, through centuries of strife and persecution, the church of Christ has been as a city set on a hill. From age to age, through successive generations, to the present time, the pure doctrines of the Bible have been unfolding within her borders. The church of Christ, enfeebled and defective as she may appear, is the one object on earth on which He bestows in a special sense His love and regard. The church is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to make experiments of mercy on human hearts.

The church is God’s fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of her sacred trust is treachery to Him who has bought her with the precious blood of His only begotten Son. In the past, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth, and God has taken them into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His holy angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against it.—The Review and Herald, December 4, 1900.

From From the Heart

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude 21.

Those who hear from the lips of Christ the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” will be heroic ministers of righteousness. They may never preach a discourse from the pulpit, but loyal to a sense of God’s claims upon them and jealous of His honor, they will minister to the souls who are the purchase of Christ’s blood. They will see the necessity of carrying into their work a willing mind, an earnest spirit, and a hearty, unselfish zeal. They will not study how best they can preserve their own dignity, but by care and thoughtfulness will seek to win the hearts of those whom they serve….

The apostle Paul urges upon us the advantages placed within our reach. “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved,” he says, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” We are to separate from the world in spirit and practice if we would become sons and daughters of God. In His prayer for His followers, Christ asked, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

There is earnest work before each one of us. Right thoughts, pure and holy purposes, do not come to us naturally. We shall have to strive for them…. Those who are under the control of the Spirit of God will not seek their own pleasure or amusement. If Christ presides in the hearts of the members of His church, they will answer to the call, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate.” Partake not of her sin.

God has a work for His faithful sentinels to do in standing in defense of the truth. They are to warn and entreat, showing their faith by their works. They are to stand as did Noah, in noble, whole-souled fidelity, their characters untarnished by the evil around them. They are to be saviors of humanity, as Christ was. Workers who thus stand true to their trust will be exposed to hatred and reproach. False accusations will be brought against them to drag them from their high position. But they have their foundation upon the Rock, and they remain unmoved, warning, entreating, rebuking sin and pleasure-loving by their own moral rectitude and circumspect lives.—The Review and Herald, November 28, 1899.

From From the Heart

Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24.

God is waiting to see revealed in His people a faith that works by love and purifies the soul; for this alone will fit them for the future, immortal life. There is a great work to be accomplished and little time in which to do it. The cause needs converted, devoted men and women who will make the Lord their dependence. Through such workers the Lord will reveal the power of His grace….

My brethren and sisters, let the truth of God abide in your heart by a living, holy faith. Bible truth must be comprehended before it can convict the conscience and convert the life. The remnant people of God must be a converted people. The presentation of this message is to result in the conversion and sanctification of souls. We are to feel the power of the Spirit of God in this movement. This is a wonderful, definite message; it means everything to the receiver, and it is to be proclaimed with a loud cry. We must have true, eternal faith that this message will go forth with increasing importance to the close of time.

Christ desires to see His likeness reflected in every renewed soul. Those who continue meek and lowly in heart, He will make laborers together with God. Our spiritual conflicts might often be called our spiritual rebellions. It is the heart’s lack of submission to the will of God that so often brings us into difficulty. We want our own way, and this often means rebellion against God’s way. We need to do as Christ did—wrestle with the Father in prayer for strength and for power to make Him known in our words and actions….

To do the Master’s bidding and to promote His work in the earth should be the one aim and purpose of our lives. Then there would be an upward growth, and the Holy Spirit would work upon the heart to transform the character. A generous spirit would be revealed in kindness and tender regard for others. Self would be hid with Christ in God. Beholding the character of Christ, we would become changed into His likeness.

Let us forsake self and accept Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the life. Faith in Him is the only valuable science. He is the living representative of perfect obedience to the eternal Word.—The Review and Herald, August 26, 1909.

From From the Heart