Daily Devotional

January 3, 2018

Preserve The Body Temple

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 1 Cor. 3:16

God has given you a habitation to care for and preserve in the best condition for His service and glory. Your bodies are not your own. . . . “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

Health is a blessing of which few appreciate the value. . . . Life is a holy trust, which God alone can enable us to keep, and to use to His glory. But He who formed the wonderful structure of the body will take special care to keep it in order if men do not work at cross-purposes with Him. Every talent entrusted to us He will help us to improve and use in accordance to the will of the Giver.

Youth is the time to establish good habits, to correct wrong ones already contracted, to gain and to hold the power of self-control, and to lay the plan, and accustom one’s self to the practice of ordering all the acts of life with reference to the will of God.

The sacred temple of the body must be kept pure and uncontaminated, that God’s Holy Spirit may dwell therein. We need to guard faithfully the Lord’s property, for any abuse of our powers shortens the time that our lives could be used for the glory of God. Bear in mind that we must consecrate all—soul, body, and spirit—to God. All is His purchased possession, and must be used intelligently, to the end that we may preserve the talent of life. By properly using our powers to their fullest extent in the most useful employment, by keeping every organ in health, by so preserving every organ that mind, sinew, and muscle shall work harmoniously, we may do the most precious service for God.

When we do all we can on our part to have health, then may we expect that the blessed results will follow, and we can ask God in faith to bless our efforts for the preservation of health.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 47.

Daily Devotional

January 2, 2018

God Multiplies My Talents

Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matt. 25:21

God has given us talents to use for Him. To one He gives five talents, to another two, and to another one. Let not him who has but one talent think to hide it from God. The Lord knows where it is hidden. He knows that it is doing nothing for Him. When the Lord comes, He will ask His servants, What have you done with the talents I entrusted to you? And as he who received five and he who received two tell Him that by trading they have doubled their talents, He will say to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. . . . Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” Thus He will say also to him who has improved the one talent lent him. . . .

To him who has but one talent I would say, Do you know that one talent, rightly used and improved, will bring to the Lord one hundred talents? How? you ask. Use your gift in the conversion of one man of intellect, who sees what God is to him, and what he should be to God. Let him place himself on the side of the Lord, and as he imparts the light to others, he will be the means of bringing many souls to the Saviour. Through the right use of one talent one hundred souls may receive the truth. It is not to those who have the greatest number of talents to whom the “Well done” is spoken, but to those who in sincerity and faithfulness have used their gifts for the Master. . . .

There is a great work to be done in our world, and we are accountable for every ray of light that shines upon our pathway. Impart that light, and you will receive more light to impart. Great blessing will come to those who use their talents aright.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 47.

Daily Devotional

January 1, 2018

Growth In Grace Begins At Home

The Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Ps. 84:11

There are many who do not grow in grace because they fail of cultivating home religion.

The members of the family are to show that they are in constant possession of a power received from Christ. They are to improve in every habit and practice, thus showing that they keep constantly before them what it means to be a Christian.

Those who are Christians in the home will be Christians in the church and in the world.

Grace can thrive only in the heart that is being constantly prepared for the precious seeds of truth. The thorns of sin will grow in any soil; they need no cultivation; but grace must be carefully cultivated. The briers and thorns are always ready to spring up, and the work of purification must advance continually.

That which will make the character lovely in the home is that which will make it lovely in the heavenly mansions. If you are . . . to be the light of the world, that light is to shine in your home. Here you are to exemplify the Christian graces, to be lovable, patient, kind, yet firm. . . . You need to seek constantly the highest culture of mind and soul. . . . As a humble child of God, learn in the school of Christ; seek constantly to improve your powers, that you may do the most perfect, thorough work at home, by both precept and example. . . . Let the light of heavenly grace irradiate your character, that there may be sunlight in the home.

The measure of your Christianity is gauged by the character of your home life. The grace of Christ enables its possessors to make the home a happy place, full of peace and rest.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 46, 47.

Daily Devotional

December 31, 2017

I Will Sing Unto The Lord

Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. Ps. 50:23

Come to Jesus just as you are, sinful, weak, and needy, and He will give you the water of life. You want a faith that reaches through the hellish shadow that Satan casts athwart your pathway. He is busily inventing amusements and fashions which will so take up men’s minds that they shall not be able to spare any time for meditation. Teach your children to glorify God, not to please themselves. They are His children—His by creation and by redemption. Teach them to shun the amusements and follies of this degenerate age. Keep their minds clean and pure in the sight of God. . . . Praise God. Let your conversation, your music, your songs all praise Him who has done so much for us. Praise God here, and then you will be fitted to join the heavenly choir when you enter the city of God. Then you can cast your glittering crowns at the feet of Jesus, take your golden harps, and fill all heaven with melody. We shall praise Him with an immortal tongue.

As our Redeemer leads us to the threshold of the Infinite, flushed with the glory of God, we may catch the themes of praise and thanksgiving from the heavenly choir round about the throne; and as the echo of the angels’ song is awakened in our earthly homes, hearts will be drawn closer to the heavenly singers. Heaven’s communion begins on earth. We learn here the keynote of its praise.

Praise the Lord; talk of His goodness; tell of His power. Sweeten the atmosphere that surrounds your soul. . . . Praise, with heart and soul and voice, Him who is the health of your countenance, your Saviour, and your God.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 45, 46.

Daily Devotional

December 30, 2017

I Will Love As Christ Loved

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35

If we would be true lights in the world, we must manifest the loving, compassionate spirit of Christ. To love as Christ loved means that we must practice self-control. It means that we must show unselfishness at all times and in all places. It means that we must scatter round us kind words and pleasant looks. These cost the giver nothing, but they leave behind a precious fragrance. Their influence for good cannot be estimated. Not only to the receiver, but to the giver, they are a blessing; for they react upon him. Genuine love is a precious attribute of heavenly origin, which increases in fragrance in proportion as it is dispensed to others. . . .

God desires His children to remember that in order to glorify Him, they must bestow their affection on those who need it most. None with whom we come in contact are to be neglected. No selfishness in look, word, or deed is to be manifested to our fellow beings, whatever their position, whether they be high or low, rich or poor. The love that gives kind words to only a few, while others are treated with coldness and indifference, is not love, but selfishness. It will not in any way work for the good of souls or the glory of God. We are not to confine our love to one or two objects.

Those who gather the sunshine of Christ’s righteousness, and refuse to let it shine into the lives of others, will soon lose the sweet, bright rays of heavenly grace, selfishly reserved to be lavished upon a few. . . . Self should not be allowed to gather to itself a select few, giving nothing to those who need help the most. Our love is not to be sealed up for special ones. Break the bottle, and the fragrance will fill the house.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 44, 45.