Today Is the Day of Salvation, February 4

For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2.

How thankful we all should be that it is not yet too late for wrongs to be righted! It is our solemn duty to reveal love for God not only in our words, but in deed and in truth.

God calls at this time for skillful workers who will always be found on the side of the Chief Worker. We must have truth in the heart, and love for Christ. “Whosoever will come after me,” He says, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). We have each an individual work to do in denying self and in working out our own salvation with fear and trembling….

Every soul who places himself on the side of Christ will be tempted with all the power of Satan's seductive influence. The grace of God can renew your heart, brace you against temptation, and give you earnest longings for the Spirit of God….

God will soon vindicate His justice before the universe. His justice requires that sin shall be punished; His mercy grants that sin shall be pardoned through repentance and confession. Pardon can come only through His only begotten Son; Christ alone can expiate sin—and then only when sin is repented of and forsaken. Man has severed his connection with God, and his soul has become palsied and strengthless by the deadly poison of sin. But there was a time when the proclamation sounded through the heavenly courts, I have found a ransom! A divine life is given as man's ransom; One equal with the Father has become man's substitute.

So ingenious are the plans that Satan lays to deceive and pervert, that the very blessings that come to us in the divine life may be turned into snares. By the same false reasoning by which he deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he seeks to turn the very blessings which God sends for our good into snares and a curse. He seeks to lead men to use God's gifts as weapons against the Giver.

God gave His only begotten Son to the human race that man might become a partaker of the divine nature by accepting the remedy for sin and allowing the divine grace of Christ to work in his life. The power of divinity working in humanity can bring man into right relation with God. Fallen man, by laying hold of the divine power brought within his reach, can become one with God. Everlasting life is the blessing that Christ came to give to the world.—Letter 38, February 4, 1907, to a former worker faltering in the Battle Creek pantheism crisis.

Not My Will, but Thine, February 3

And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Matthew 26:39.

We may mark out a course for ourselves which may be born of our own ambitions or of some selfish purposes. The Lord knows the end from the beginning. He understands the relation that each man should sustain to God and to his fellow man. The Lord may see that one man's connection with men of a certain disposition or character will affect those with whom he associates to their injury. He may not be one who can reason clearly from cause to effect. The men with whom he is brought in connection may be just the ones who will not help him where he needs help.

The linking together of certain elements may produce unfavorable results. Therefore man cannot trust to his own judgment. Experience will convince him of his mistake. The Lord purposes that which will be the greatest spiritual benefit to the soul which is in the balances, ready to begin some new enterprise which means more than he himself anticipates. What should such an one do? His only safety lies in putting his preferences and his plans on one side, saying, “Not my will, but Thy will, O Lord, be done.” …

In the smallest as well as the largest matters, the first great question is, What is God's will in the matter; for His will is my will. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? One man may be required by God to do a work and stand in a position that is peculiarly trying and taxing. The Lord has a work for him to do and he risks his life, his future eternal life, in standing in that place. This was the position Christ occupied when He came to our world, entering into conflict with the rebel leader of the fallen angels. God devised a plan, and Christ accepted the position. He consented to meet the foe singlehanded, as every human being must do. He was provided with all the heavenly powers to aid Him in this great conflict; and man, if he walked in the way and will of God, is provided with the same keeping power. The same heavenly intelligences minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation, that they may overcome every temptation, great or small, as Christ overcame. But anyone who places himself in a position of peril from any motive but obedience to the will of God will fall under the power of temptation….

No one is secure who thinks it is his privilege to choose for himself.—Letter 22, February 3, 1899, to a businessman.

Live in Harmony With Heaven, February 2

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48.

God gave Daniel and his companions “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17)…. Babylon was at this time the greatest kingdom in the world. God permitted Daniel and his companions to be taken captive that they might take to the king and nobles of Babylon the knowledge of Him, the only true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. God brought Daniel into favor with the prince of the eunuchs because he behaved himself. He kept before him the fear of the Lord. His companions never saw in his life anything that would lead them astray. Those who had charge over him loved him, because he carried with him the fragrance of a Christlike disposition….

God cooperates with human effort. Daniel might have said, “Of course, I must eat as the king commands.” But instead, he resolved to obey God, and God began at once to help him. So when you are determined that you will obey the divine command, God will cooperate with you, making you witnesses of which Heaven approves….

You know not in what position you may be placed. God may use you as He used Daniel to take the knowledge of the truth to the mighty of the earth. It rests with you to say whether you will have knowledge and skill. God can give you skill in all your learning. He can help you to adapt yourselves to the line of study you shall take up. Place yourselves in right relation to God. Make this your first interest….

God desires you to be witnesses for Him. He desires you to draw in right lines. As you do this, He will give you skill and wisdom and understanding. You will advance step by step, for God does not want you to stand still. He wants you to run in the way of His commandments, constantly moving forward and upward.

God is connected with the threads of our existence. He knows every thought of the heart, every action of the life. Then, strive to live in harmony with Him. Seek to reach a high standard…. Heavenly angels will help you, and more than that, Christ will help you. The Prince of life is more interested than anyone else in your salvation. You can do Him honor by showing that you appreciate what He has done for you. You can glorify Him and make the angels glad by revealing in your life that He has not died in vain. Be determined that opposite your names in the books of heaven shall be written the word “Overcomer.” Then all discontent and unhappiness will vanish. Your hearts will be filled with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.—Manuscript 13, February 2, 1900, “Words to Students.”

February

God's Plans Are Perfect, February 1

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:9, 10.

Jesus ascended to the Father as a representative of the human race, and God will bring those who reflect His image to behold and share with Him His glory. There are homes for the pilgrims of earth. There are robes for the righteous, with crowns of glory and palms of victory. All that perplexed us in the providences of God will then be made plain. The things hard to be understood will then find an explanation. The mysteries of grace will unfold before us. Where our finite minds discovered only confusion and broken purposes, we shall see the most perfect and beautiful harmony. We shall know that infinite love ordered the experiences that seemed most trying and hard to bear. As we realize the tender care of Him who makes all things work together for our good, we shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Pain cannot exist in the atmosphere of heaven. In the home of the redeemed there will be no tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning. “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity” (Isaiah 33:24). One rich tide of happiness will flow and deepen as eternity rolls on. Think of this; tell it to the children of suffering and sorrow, and bid them rejoice in hope.

The nearer we come to Jesus, the more clearly we behold the purity and greatness of His character, the less we shall feel like exalting self. The contrast between our characters and His will lead to humiliation of soul and deep heart searching. The more we love Jesus, the more entirely will self be humbled and forgotten….

He who is meek in spirit, he who is purest and most childlike, will be made strong for the battle. He will be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. He who feels his weakness, and wrestles with God as did Jacob, and like this servant of old cries, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me,” will go forth with the fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit. The atmosphere of heaven will surround him. He will go about doing good. His influence will be a positive force in favor of the religion of Christ….

Our God is a very present help in time of need. He is acquainted with the most secret thoughts of our hearts, with all the intents and purposes of our souls. When we are in perplexity, even before we open to Him our distresses, He is making arrangements for our deliverance.—Letter 73, February 1, 1905, to Drs. D. H. and Lauretta Kress.

Immortal Inheritance, January 31

What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:36, 37.

It is the purpose of redemption, not only to blot out sin, but to give back to man those spiritual gifts lost because of sin's dwarfing power. Money cannot be carried into the next life; it is not needed there. But the good deeds done to win souls to Christ, the faithful investment of God's entrusted treasure, these are carried to the heavenly courts. Those who selfishly spend the Lord's goods on themselves, leaving their needy fellow creatures without aid, who do not advance God's work in our world, dishonor their Maker. Robbery of God is written opposite their names.

Poverty is not a sin unless by recklessness men bring poverty upon themselves. And even then, if they repent, they will be pardoned…. Those who have faith in Christ as a personal Saviour, even though they may occupy a humble place in the world, are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ to an immortal inheritance. They have an insurance policy to eternal life.

After enumerating the privileges of those who work on the plan of addition, constantly adding Christian attributes to the character, the apostle Peter declares that God will work on the plan of multiplication: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust…. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:2-11). Here is our life insurance policy. Shall we not work on God's plan to secure it?

Man is ever dear to the heart of God. The Creator of the world comes graciously near and still nearer to all those in every nation who receive Jesus as a personal Saviour….

That which is highly esteemed among men is abhorrent in the sight of God. Christ asks, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36, 37).—Manuscript 6, January 31, 1899, “The Poor Rich Man.”