Daily Devotional

June 30, 2019

Seek to Reflect the Image of Jesus

Whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked. 1 John 2:6, NRSV.

What surpassing love and condescension, that when we had no claim on divine mercy, Christ was willing to undertake our redemption! But our great Physician requires of every soul unquestioning obedience. We are never to prescribe for our own case. Christ must have the entire control of our will and action, or He will not undertake in our behalf.

Many are not sensible of their condition and their danger; and there is much in the nature of the Christian religion that is averse to every worldly feeling and principle, and opposed to the pride of the human heart. We may flatter ourselves, as did Nicodemus, that our lives and our moral character have been correct, and think that we need not humble our heart before God, like the common sinner; but we must be content to enter into life in the very same way as the chief of sinners. Self must die. We must not trust to our own righteousness, but depend on the righteousness of Christ. He is our strength and our hope.

Genuine faith is followed by love – love that is manifested in the home, in society, and in all the relations of life – love which smooths away difficulties, and lifts us above the disagreeable trifles that Satan places in our way to annoy us. And love will be followed by obedience. All the powers and the passions of the converted person are brought under the control of Christ. His Spirit is a renewing power, transforming to the divine image all who will receive it.

To become a disciple of Christ is to deny self, and follow Jesus through evil as well as through good report. It is to close the door to pride, envy, doubt, and other sins, and thus shut out strife, hatred, and every evil work. It is to welcome into our hearts Jesus, the meek and lowly one, who is seeking admittance as our guest….

Jesus is a pattern for humanity, complete, perfect. He proposes to make us like Himself – true in every purpose, feeling, and thought – true in heart, soul, and life. The man or woman who cherishes the most of the love of Christ in the soul, who reflects the image of Christ most perfectly, is, in the sight of God, the truest, most noble, and most honorable person. But those who have not the Spirit of Christ are “none of his.” – The Signs of the Times, July 14, 1887.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 221.

Daily Devotional

June 29, 2019

Bring the Lower Passions Into Subjection

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that … they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:11, 12, NKJV.

Near the close of this earth’s history Satan will work with all his powers in the same manner and with the same temptations wherewith he tempted ancient Israel just before their entering the Land of Promise. He will lay snares for those who claim to keep the commandments of God, and who are almost on the borders of the heavenly Canaan. He will use his powers to their utmost in order to entrap souls, and to take God’s professed people upon their weakest points.

Those who have not brought the lower passions into subjection to the higher powers of their being, those who have allowed their minds to flow in a channel of carnal indulgence of the baser passions, Satan is determined to destroy with his temptations – to pollute their souls with licentiousness. He is not aiming especially at the lower and less important marks, but he makes use of his snares through those whom he can enlist as his agents to allure or attract men and women to take liberties which are condemned in the law of God.

And those in responsible positions, teaching the claims of God’s law, whose mouths are filled with arguments in vindication of His law, against which Satan has made such a raid – over such he sets his hellish powers and his agencies at work, and overthrows them upon the weak points in their character, knowing that those who offend on one point are guilty of all, thus obtaining complete mastery over the entire person. Mind, soul, body, and conscience are involved in the ruin. If they be messengers of righteousness, and have had great light, or if the Lord has used them as His special workers in the cause of truth, then how great is the triumph of Satan! How he exults! How God is dishonored! …

Satan knows it is his time. He has but little time left now in which to work, and he will work with tremendous power to ensnare the people of God upon their weak points of character…. It is necessary to guard the thoughts; to fence the soul about with the injunctions of God’s Word; and to be very careful in every thought, word, and action not to be betrayed into sin. – The Review and Herald, May 17, 1887.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 220.

Daily Devotional

June 28, 2019

Live Unselfishly, and Teach People to Love Jesus

You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess. Deuteronomy 5:33, NKJV.

Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. I ask you to study His life…. He came to bring to lost souls the gift of eternal life. In the sacrifice of His Son, the Father revealed how much He desires that sinners shall be saved. “Therefore doth my Father love me,” Christ declared, “because I lay down my life.” The Father loves us with a love that is but feebly comprehended.

It is because men and women lack the spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice that they cannot comprehend the sacrifice made by Heaven in giving Christ to the world. Their religious experience is mingled with selfishness and self-exaltation. How can such professors have anything but a meager hope of sharing the inheritance of Christ? “Verily I say unto you,” He said to His disciples, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

There are many who, while professing godliness, measure themselves among themselves, and in consequence grow weak in spiritual life. Pride is not overcome. Not until these souls fall on the Rock and are broken will they understand their need. Oh, that they might confess their wrongs before God, and plead for the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives! Truth and righteousness will flow into the hearts that are cleansed from selfishness and sin, and through the lives of those in whose souls truth occupies the first place….

The wickedness of the world is not abating. Every year evil becomes more prevalent, and is more lightly regarded. Let our gatherings together be made seasons of heart searching and confession. It is the privilege of this people who have had such great blessings to be trees of righteousness, shedding forth comfort and blessing. They are to be living stones, emitting light. Those who have received pardon for their sins should with earnest purpose lead those who are in the ways of sin into paths of righteousness. Partaking of Christ’s self-denial and self-sacrifice, they will teach men and women to give up selfishness and sin, and accept in their place the lovely attributes of the divine nature. – The Review and Herald, July 22, 1909.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 219.

Daily Devotional

June 27, 2019

Do Not Accuse Others, but Intercede for Them

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17, NKJV.

Let human beings, subject to temptation, remember that in the heavenly courts they have a High Priest who is touched with the feeling of their infirmities, because He Himself was tempted, even as they are. And let those in positions of responsibility, especially, remember that they are subject to temptation, and wholly dependent on the merits of the Savior. However sacred the work to which they may be called, they are still sinners, who can be saved only through the grace of Christ. One day they must stand before the throne of God, saved by the blood of the Lamb, or condemned to the punishment of the wicked….

How grieved Christ is by the lack of love and tenderness manifested by His people in their dealings with one another! He notes the words, the tones of the voice. He hears the harsh, severe judgment passed on those whom He, in infinite love, is presenting to the Father. He hears every sigh of pain and sorrow caused by human harshness, and His Spirit is grieved.

Apart from Christ we can do no good thing. How inconsistent, then, it is for human beings to exalt themselves! How strange that any should forget that they must repent, in common with their fellow beings, and that those whom they condemn with severity may stand justified before God, receiving the sympathy of Christ and the angels.

Let God’s messengers act as wise men and women. Let them not lift up their souls unto vanity, but cherish humility. “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” …

Christ is pleading the case of every tempted soul, but while He is doing this, many of His people are grieving Him by taking their stand with Satan to accuse their brethren and sisters, pointing to their polluted garments.

Let not the criticized ones become discouraged; for while others are condemning them, Christ is saying of them, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands. By creation and by redemption thou art Mine. – The Review and Herald, March 17, 1903.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 218.

Daily Devotional

June 26, 2019

Reveal Love, Compassion, and Tenderness

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17, NKJV.

Great responsibility comes to those who have been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Strive to understand the meaning of the words “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” In the new life upon which you have entered, you are pledged to represent the life of Christ….

The old sinful life is dead, the new life entered into with Christ by the pledge of baptism. Practice the virtues of the Savior’s character. Let His word “dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” …

These things are to be presented in the churches. Love, compassion, and tenderness are to be revealed among us. Put on, as the elect of God, mercy and kindness. The sins that were practiced before conversion are to be put off with the old man. With the new man, Christ Jesus, are to be put on “kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.”

Those who have risen with Christ to walk in newness of life are the elect of God. They are holy unto the Lord, and are acknowledged by Him as His beloved. As such, they are under solemn covenant to distinguish themselves by showing humility of mind. They are to clothe themselves in garments of righteousness. They are separate from the world, from its spirit, its practices, and they are to reveal that they are learning of Him who says, “I am meek and lowly in heart.”

If they realize that they have died with Christ, if they keep their baptismal vow, the world will have no power to draw them aside to deny Christ. If they live the life of Christ in this world, they are partakers of the divine nature. Then, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, they also will appear with Him in glory. – Manuscript Releases 19:236, 237.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 217.