If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. James 1:5, 6.

If you will become a learner in the school of Christ, submit your will to Him, and come under His discipline, you will be able to walk in His ways; and by living in constant connection with Jesus, you will be a channel of light to others. You and I … need to feel our entire dependence upon God, for His grace and His guidance. God wants you to come into sympathy and harmony with His plans. Submission to the authority of Christ, which forms an essential qualification in His disciples, is not only opposed to the pride which feels hurt when advised and counseled, but those who have it will choose to be subject one to another….

Fatal deceptions are upon souls. They have a settled confidence. They think they are Christians simply because they assent to the truth; and so completely does this delusion enclose and encase the heart, that the arrows of the Lord do not find access to it, and the deep, searching truths, which clearly portray this very delusion, are listened to without effect, with not a thought of their application to themselves. Oh! seek preparation of heart at the throne of grace, that when you feel your incompetence, you may have clear views of the power and dignity of Christ, and can grasp the promises by faith, and can have a living connection with God….

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Oh, what love! what amazing love! And yet how few appreciate it! How few are partakers of the divine nature! Having undertaken the amazing work of redemption, He resolved that He would not give up the plan, but that He would spare nothing, however costly; withhold nothing, however dear, which was essential to the consummation of His design of bestowing on man gift upon gift, until He had opened to Him all the treasures of heaven.

The saving grace of God upon us, the increased conception of His greatness, justice, mercy, and love, will not fill our hearts to no purpose. This knowledge of God, which Jesus came from heaven to impart, must not be trifled with. The love of God cannot remain in our possession unless it is expressed.—Letter 48, December 13, 1888, to David H. Lamson, a conference evangelist and administrator.

From The Upward Look – Page 361

The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. Psalm 89:11.

[Many in this world] are proving themselves to be dishonest in dealing with God’s property. They love not the truth. They turn away from the righteousness of Christ to the beggarly elements of the world. They trample under their feet the precepts of God’s law, especially the Sabbath commandment. The heart of the Saviour is grieved by their conduct. He desires to save every soul whom He has purchased. O that men would understand this, and place themselves in connection with the great Master Worker!

Soon the Lord is coming to this earth with power and great glory, and the work that we are to do now is outlined in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. Who is doing this work? Who is building the Lord’s altars? Who is preparing the people for the great day of the Lord? Now, just now, everyone who claims to be a child of God should bring of his means to God’s treasury, that there may be a supply to draw from to provide the workers with facilities for entering new places to present the truth to those who have never heard it. Let there be no dearth in the Lord’s treasury. From His treasure God supplies all our necessities. Shall we be only consumers? Shall we not be producers, giving of our means that the truth may be presented to many people, who will acknowledge and accept the message, and in turn give back to God His own, and themselves be numbered among producers? …

We are not only to receive God’s gifts. With a full sense of our accountability we are to bring a return to Him, that there may be in His treasury for the advancement of His work an ample supply of means, a supply from which His workmen may draw to enable them to carry the message from city to city and from country to country. God’s self-sacrificing workers should be provided with sufficient facilities to make their work a success….

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). This world is the Lord’s storehouse, from which we are ever drawing. He has provided fruits and grains and vegetables for our sustenance. For us He makes the sun to shine and the rain to fall. The whole human family, good and evil, are constantly drawing from God’s storehouse. It makes every difference with those so highly privileged how they receive the Lord’s gifts and how they treat the contract the Lord has made with them. He has made them His almoners, directing them to draw from His storehouse, and then make a return to Him in gifts and offerings, “that there may be meat in mine house.”—Manuscript 73, December 12, 1900, “Bring an Offering Unto the Lord.”

From The Upward Look – Page 360

I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4.

Do not talk of the faults of others. Take care of your own garden. See that your own heart is cleansed by the power of God. When trouble comes, instead of getting out of patience, instead of fretting and worrying, go to the Lord, and tell Him all about it…. Do not go to human friends, for they have all the burdens they can bear….

Do not think that by placing your burdens on others, you can find relief. Come right to the Burden-bearer, and tell Him about them. Believe that He is able and willing to meet the circumstances of your case. When in contrition you come to the foot of the cross, when you have faith in the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, you will receive power through Him. As you cast your helpless soul upon Him, He gives you peace and joy and strength and courage. Then you are able to tell someone else how precious Christ is to you. You can say, “I sought Him, and found Him precious to my soul.”

“Ye shall find rest.” How? By living experience—because Christ’s yoke is a yoke of patience and gentleness and long-suffering. Those who learn His meekness and lowliness learn also how to love one another as He has loved them. They reach the place where they refuse to criticize and condemn others. They learn that there is committed to them a work that no one else can do for them—the work of learning of Christ. When we place ourselves in His hands, He shows us the possibilities and probabilities before us, and bids us go for help to One infinitely higher than erring human beings.

Christ is our efficiency. How do I know this? I know it by experience. For a while, many many years ago, I was in despair. Then I cast myself on the mercy and love of the Saviour, and His power came upon me. At one time those who were working [in the publishing office] thought me dead. But all at once I raised my voice in prayer. The power of God was upon me all night long, and henceforth I understood that I must trust in Christ. I had been praying and praying for help, and all the time my Saviour was standing close by my side, waiting for me to recognize Him as my sufficiency, my strength, my grace. I learned the lesson, and after that, when I kneeled down to pray, I believed that I would receive an answer, whether I felt as if I would or not….

Oh, how I wish that we would honor Christ by realizing what He wants to do for us, and taking Him at His word. If we would do this, we should be sunshiny Christians. By beholding Christ, we would be changed into His likeness.—Manuscript 118, December 11, 1904, “Union With Christ.”

From The Upward Look – Page 359

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:11.

The world is looking with gratification at the disunion [seen] among Christians. Infidelity is well pleased. God calls for a change among His people. Union with Christ and with one another is our only safety in these last days. Let us not make it possible for Satan to point to our church members, saying, “Behold how these people, standing under the banner of Christ, hate one another. We have nothing to fear from them while they spend more strength fighting one another than in warfare with my forces.”

After the descent of the Holy Spirit, the disciples went forth to proclaim a risen Saviour, their one desire the salvation of souls. They rejoiced in the sweetness of communion with saints. They were tender, thoughtful, self-denying, willing to make any sacrifice for the truth’s sake. In their daily association with one another they revealed the love that Christ had commanded them to reveal. By unselfish words and deeds they strove to kindle this love in other hearts….

But the early Christians began to look for defects in one another. Dwelling upon mistakes, encouraging suspicion and doubt, giving way to unkind criticism, they lost sight of the Saviour and of the great love He had revealed for sinners. They became more strict in regard to outward ceremonies, more particular about the theory of the faith, more severe in their criticisms. In their zeal to condemn others, they themselves erred. They forgot the lesson of brotherly love that Christ had taught. And, saddest of all, they were unconscious of their loss. They did not realize that happiness and joy were going out of their lives, and that soon they would walk in darkness, having shut the love of God out of their hearts.

The apostle John realized that brotherly love was waning in the church, and he dwelt particularly upon this point. Up to the day of his death, he urged upon believers the constant exercise of love for one another….

In the church of God today brotherly love is greatly lacking. Many of those who profess to love the Saviour neglect to love those who are united with them in Christian fellowship….

Harmony and unity existing among men of varied dispositions is the strongest witness that can be borne that God has sent His Son into the world to save sinners. It is our privilege to bear this witness. But in order to do this, we must place ourselves under Christ’s command. Our characters must be molded in harmony with Christ’s character; our wills must be surrendered to His will.—Manuscript 143, December 10, 1903, “Unity.”

From The Upward Look – Page 358

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20.

As Christ ascended, His hands outstretched to bless His disciples, a cloud of angels received Him and hid Him from their sight. As the disciples looked with straining eyes for the last glimpse of their ascending Lord, two angels from the rejoicing throng stood by them and said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11)….

The disciples were filled with great joy. Over and over again they repeated the words Christ had spoken to them in His last lessons, as recorded in the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John; and every one had something to say about the instruction, especially with regard to the words of the fourteenth of John … [verses 1-3, quoted]….

The promise that He would come again, and also the thought that He had left them His peace, filled their hearts with joy….

Satan has made men and women his prisoners, and claims them as his subjects. When Christ saw that there was no human being able to be man’s intercessor, He Himself entered the fierce conflict and battled with Satan. The First begotten of God was the only One who could liberate those who by Adam’s sin had been brought in subjection to Satan.

The Son of God gave Satan every opportunity to try all his arts upon Him. The enemy had tempted the angels in heaven, and afterwards the first Adam. Adam fell, and Satan supposed he could succeed in ensnaring Christ after He assumed humanity. All the fallen host looked upon this engagement as an opportunity to gain the supremacy over Christ. They had longed for a chance to show their enmity against God. When the lips of Christ were sealed in death, Satan and his angels imagined that they had obtained the victory.

It was the thought of standing under the guilt of the whole world that brought the inexpressible anguish to Christ. In the death struggle the Son of God could rely only upon His heavenly Father; all was by faith. He Himself was a ransom, a gift, given for the freeing of the captives. By His own arm He has brought salvation to the children of men, but at what a cost to Himself! …

What a spectacle was this conflict! It resulted in demonstrating to the heavenly universe the justice of God.—Manuscript 125, December 9, 1901, “The Unchangeable Law of God.”

From The Upward Look – Page 357