Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me…. Behold, I have come … to do Your will, O God. Hebrews 10:5-7.

Should the angel Gabriel be sent to this world to take upon himself human nature and to teach the knowledge of God, how eagerly people would listen to his instruction. Supposing that he were able to set us a perfect example of purity and holiness, sympathizing with us in all our sorrows, bereavements, and afflictions, and suffering the punishment of our sins, how eagerly we would follow him….

If, when this heavenly being returned to his home, he should leave behind him a book containing the history of his mission, with revelations regarding the history of the world, how eagerly would its seal be broken! How anxiously men and women would seek to obtain a copy! … But One surpassing all that imagination can present came from heaven to this world…. Of Himself Christ declares, “Before Abraham was, I am.” “I and my Father are one.” …

As Paul beheld Christ in His power, he broke out into exclamations of admiration and amazement: “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” … “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

The Bible is God’s voice speaking to us, just as surely as if we could hear it with our ears. If we realized this, … with what earnestness we would search its precepts. The reading and contemplation of the Scriptures would be regarded as an audience with the Infinite One….

Christ’s words are the bread of life. As the disciples ate the words of Christ, their understanding was quickened…. In their comprehension of these teachings they stepped from the obscurity of dawn to the radiance of noonday.

So will it be with us as we study God’s Word. Our minds will be quickened and our understanding enlarged. Those who receive and assimilate this Word, making it a part of every act, of every attribute of character, grow strong in the strength of God. It gives vigor to the soul, perfecting the experience, and bringing joys that abide forever.—Signs of the Times, April 4, 1906.

From From the Heart

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Colossians 3:16.

The Word of God is the foundation of our faith, and therefore it is by the Word of God that we may obtain evidence of our standing before God. We are not to make our feelings a test by which to discern whether we are in or out of favor with God, whether they be what we consider encouraging or not. As soon as we begin to contemplate feelings, we are on dangerous ground. If we feel joyous, we are confident we are in a favorable condition, but when a change comes, as it will, for circumstances will be so arranged that feelings of depression will make the heart sad, then we will be naturally led to doubt that God has accepted us….

Satan will not be slow in presenting to the repentant soul suggestions and difficulties to weaken faith and destroy courage. He has manifold temptations that he can send trooping into the mind, one in succession of another, but Christians must not study their emotions, and give way to their feelings, or they will soon entertain the evil guest, doubt, and become entangled in the perplexities of despair….

Do not exalt your feelings and be swayed by them, whether they be good, bad, sad, or joyful…. It is the Word of God that is to be your assurance…. There is a warfare in which every soul must engage who would have the crown of life. Inch by inch the overcomer must fight the good fight of faith, using the weapons of God’s Word. We must meet the foe with “It is written.” …

When the enemy begins to draw away the mind from Jesus, to shut away His mercy, His love, His all-sufficiency, do not devote precious time to the consideration of your feelings, but flee to the Word. In the Scriptures Christ is presented as the one by whom God made the worlds. He is the light of the world, and, as we seekers for light study the Word, we find heavenly illumination….

What do we hope to accomplish by longing to have the whole world converted to Jesus by believing in His pardoning love, when we do not ourselves believe in His love or find rest in His grace? How can we possibly lead others to a full assurance, to simple, childlike faith in our heavenly Father, when we are measuring and judging our love to Him by our feelings?—Signs of the Times, December 3, 1894.

From From the Heart

There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. Proverbs 11:24.

Experience shows that a spirit of benevolence is more often to be found with those of limited means than among the more wealthy. The most liberal donations for the cause of God or the relief of the needy come from the poor person’s purse, while many to whom the Lord has committed an abundance for this very purpose see not the necessity for means to advance the truth, and hear not the cries of the poor among them….

The gift of the poor, the fruit of self-denial to extend the precious light of truth, is as fragrant incense before God. And every act of self-sacrifice for the good of others will strengthen the spirit of beneficence in the giver’s heart, allying the donor more closely to the Redeemer of the world, who “was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

The smallest sum given cheerfully as the result of self-denial is of more value in God’s sight than the offerings of those who could give thousands and yet feel no lack. The poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury of the Lord showed love, faith, and benevolence. She gave all that she had, trusting to God’s care for the uncertain future. Her little gift was pronounced by our Savior the greatest that day cast into the treasury. Its value was measured not by the worth of the coin, but by the purity of the motive which prompted her sacrifice.

God’s blessing upon that sincere offering has made it the source of great results. The widow’s mite has been like a tiny stream flowing down through the ages, widening and deepening in its course, and contributing in a thousand directions to the extension of the truth and the relief of the needy. The influence of that small gift has acted and reacted upon thousands of hearts in every age and in every country upon the globe. As the result, unnumbered gifts have flowed into the treasury of the Lord from the liberal, self-denying poor. And again, her example has stimulated to good works thousands of ease-loving, selfish, and doubting ones, and their gifts also have gone to swell the value of her offering.

Liberality is a duty on no account to be neglected….

It is to cultivate a spirit of benevolence in us that the Lord calls for our gifts and offerings.—The Review and Herald, February 9, 1886.

From From the Heart

O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. 1 Chronicles 29:16.

In building the temple, the call for means met with a hearty response. The people did not give reluctantly; they rejoiced in the prospect of a building being erected for the worship of God. They donated more than enough for the purpose. David blessed the Lord before all the congregation, and said, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” …

David well understood from whom came all his bounties. Would that those of this day who rejoice in a Savior’s love could realize that their silver and gold is the Lord’s, and should be used to promote His glory, not grudgingly retained to enrich and gratify themselves. He has an indisputable right to all that He has lent His creatures. All that they possess is His.

There are high and holy objects that require means; thus invested, it will yield to the giver more elevated and permanent enjoyment than if expended in personal gratification or selfishly hoarded for the greed of gain….

Many selfishly retain their means and soothe their conscience with a plan for doing some great thing for the cause of God after their death. They make a will donating a large sum to the church and its various interests, and then settle down with a feeling that they have done all that is required of them. Wherein have they denied self by this act? They have, on the contrary, exhibited only selfishness. When they have no further use for their money, they propose to give it to God. But they will retain it as long as they can, till they are compelled to relinquish it by a messenger that cannot be turned down.

God has made us all His stewards, and in no case authorized us to neglect our duty or leave it for others to do. The call for means to advance the cause of truth will never be more urgent than now. Our money will never do a greater amount of good than at the present time…. If we leave others to accomplish that which God has left for us to do, we wrong ourselves and Him who gave us all we have…. God would have all be executors of their own will in this matter, during their lifetime.—The Review and Herald, October 17, 1882.

From From the Heart

“Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing. Exodus 36:6.

Under the Jewish system, the people were required to cherish a spirit of liberality, both in sustaining the cause of God and in supplying the wants of the needy. At the harvest and the vintage, the firstfruits of the fields—corn, wine, and oil—were to be consecrated as an offering to the Lord. The gleanings and the corners of the fields were reserved for the poor. The firstfruits of the wool when the sheep were shorn, of the grain when the wheat was threshed, were to be offered to the Lord; and at the feast it was commanded that the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the strangers should be invited. At the close of every year all were required to make solemn oath whether or not they had done according to the command of God.

This arrangement was made by the Lord to impress upon the people that in every matter He must be first. They were, by this system of benevolence, reminded that their gracious Master was the true proprietor of their fields, their flocks, and their herds, that the God of heaven sent them sunshine and rain for their seed-time and harvest, and that everything which they possessed was of His creation. All was the Lord’s, and He had made them stewards of His goods.

The liberality of the Jews in the construction of the tabernacle evinced a spirit of benevolence which has not been equaled by the people of God at any later date. The Hebrews had just been freed from their long bondage in Egypt, they were wanderers in the wilderness; yet scarcely were they delivered from the armies of the Egyptians who pursued them in their hasty journey, when the word of the Lord came to Moses, “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.” …

All gave with a willing hand, not a certain amount of their increase, but a large portion of their actual possessions. They devoted it gladly and heartily to the Lord. They honored Him by so doing. Was it not all His? Had He not given them all that they possessed? If He called for it, was it not their duty to give back to the lender His own? No urging was needed. The people brought even more than was required; and they were told to desist, for there was already more than could be appropriated.—The Review and Herald, October 17, 1882.

From From the Heart