Daily Devotional

December 14, 2017

To Walk In His Way

The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. Prov. 10:29.

If from the beginning we had walked in the counsel of God, thousands more would have been converted to the present truth. But many have made crooked paths for their feet. My brethren, make straight paths, lest the lame be turned out of the way. Let no one follow a crooked path that some one else has made, for thus you would not only go astray yourself, but would make this crooked path plainer for some one else to follow. Determine that as for yourself, you will walk in the path of obedience. Know for a certainty that you are standing under the broad shield of Omnipotence. Realize that the characteristics of Jehovah must be revealed in your life, and that in you a work must be accomplished that will mold your character after the divine similitude. Yield yourself to the guidance of Him who is the Head over all.

We are doing our work for the judgment. Let us be learners of Jesus. We need His guidance every moment. At every step we should inquire, “Is this the way of the Lord?” not, “Is this the way of the man who is over me?” We are to be concerned only as to whether we are walking in the way of the Lord.

God will honor and uphold every true-hearted, earnest soul who is seeking to walk before Him in the perfection of Christ’s grace. He will never leave nor forsake one humble, trembling soul. Shall we believe that He will work in our hearts? that if we allow Him to do so, He will make us pure and holy, by His rich grace qualifying us to be laborers together with Him? Can we with keen, sanctified perception appreciate the strength of His promises, and appropriate them, not because we are worthy, but because by living faith we claim the righteousness of Christ?

There is nothing so great and powerful as God’s love for those who are His children.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 32.

Daily Devotional

December 13, 2017

Study The Scriptures

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Rom. 15:4.

This Holy Book has withstood the assaults of Satan, who has united with evil men to make everything of divine character shrouded in clouds and darkness. But the Lord has preserved this Holy Book by His own miraculous power in its present shape,—a chart or guidebook to the human family to show them the way to heaven. . . . This Word . . . is the guidebook to the inhabitants of a fallen world, bequeathed to them, that by studying and obeying the directions, not one soul would lose its way.

There never was a time when it was so important that followers of Christ should study the Bible as now. Deceptive influences are upon all sides, and it is essential that you counsel with Jesus, your best friend. . . . David declares, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” How many are betrayed into sin, because they have not, through prayerful study of the Word of God, realized the sinfulness of sin, and found out how they may steadfastly resist it. When temptation comes upon them, they seem to be off guard, and ignorant of the devices of the enemy. We are living in perilous times, and as we draw near the close of earth’s history, there will be no safety for those who do not become familiar with the Word of God. . . . Everything that can be shaken, will be shaken. . . . The children of God have reached the most critical part of their pilgrimage; for the nets and pitfalls of the enemy are on every side. And yet with the guidance of the Lord, with that which is plainly revealed in His Word, we may walk securely and not stumble. . . . A voice from heaven is addressing us in its pages.

Obedience to God’s Word is our only safeguard against the evils that are sweeping the world to destruction.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 31.

Daily Devotional

December 12, 2017

Divine Wisdom

For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. Prov. 8:11.

If Adam and Eve had never touched the forbidden tree, the Lord would have imparted to them knowledge,—knowledge upon which rested no curse of sin, knowledge that would have brought them everlasting joy. The only knowledge they gained by their disobedience was a knowledge of sin and its results….

Age after age, the curiosity of men has led them to seek for the tree of knowledge; and often they think they are plucking fruit most essential, when, like Solomon’s research, they find it altogether vanity and nothingness in comparison with that science of true holiness which will open to them the gates of the city of God. The human ambition has been seeking for that kind of knowledge that will bring to them glory and self-exaltation and supremacy. Thus Adam and Eve were worked upon by Satan until God’s restraint was snapped asunder, and their education under the teacher of lies began in order that they might have the knowledge which God had refused them.

True wisdom is a treasure as lasting as eternity. Many of the world’s so-called wise men are wise only in their own estimation. Content with the acquisition of worldly wisdom, they never enter the garden of God, to become acquainted with the treasures of knowledge contained in His holy Word. Supposing themselves to be wise, they are ignorant concerning the wisdom which all must have who gain eternal life….The unlearned man, if he knows God and Jesus Christ, has a more enduring wisdom than has the most learned man who despises the instruction of God.

Divine wisdom is to be a lamp to your feet….Everything that can be shaken will be shaken; but rooted and grounded in the truth, you will abide with those things that cannot be shaken.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 30, 31.

Daily Devotional

December 11, 2017

Careful Habits Ensure Good Health

I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord. Jer. 30:17.

The mind does not wear out nor break down so often on account of diligent employment and hard study, as on account of eating improper food at improper times, and of careless inattention to the laws of health. . . . Irregular hours for eating and sleeping sap the brain forces. The apostle Paul declares that he who would be successful in reaching a high standard of godliness must be temperate in all things. Eating, drinking, and dressing all have a direct bearing upon our spiritual advancement.

Health is a blessing which few appreciate. . . . Many eat at all hours, regardless of the laws of health. Then gloom covers the mind. How can men be honored with divine enlightenment when they are so reckless in their habits, so inattentive to the light which God has given in regard to these things. . . . 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.

Health, life, and happiness are the result of obedience to physical laws governing our bodies. If our will and way are in accordance with God’s will and way; if we do the pleasure of our Creator, He will keep the human organism in good condition, and restore the moral, mental, and physical powers, in order that He may work through us to His glory. . . . If we co-operate with Him in this work, health and happiness, peace and usefulness, are the sure result.

He did not die for us in order that we might become slaves to evil habits, but that we might become the sons and daughters of God, serving Him with every power of the being.

My dear young friends, advance step by step, until all your habits shall be in harmony with the laws of life and health.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 29, 30.

Daily Devotional

December 10, 2017

Jesus Is A Friend That Is Closer Than A Brother

There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Prov. 18:24.

Disappointments you will have, but ever bear in mind that Jesus, the living, risen Saviour, is your Redeemer, your Restorer. He loves you, and it is better to share His love than to sit with princes and be separated from Him. . . .

Come daily to Jesus, who loves you. Open your heart to Him freely. In Him there is no disappointment. You will never find a better counselor, a safer guide, a more sure defense.

Through all your trials . . . you have had a never-failing Friend, who has said, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

But how often is the Lord neglected for the society of others, and for things of no value! . . . We dare not let His name languish on our lips, and His love and memory die out of our hearts. “Well,” says the cold, formal professor, “this is making Christ too much like a human being;” but the Word of God warrants us to have these very ideas. It is the want of these practical, definite views of Christ, that hinders so many from having a genuine experience in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is the reason that many are fearing and doubting and mourning. Their ideas of Christ and the plan of salvation are vague, dreary, and confused. . . . If ever there was a time when men needed the presence of Christ at their right hand, it is now, so that when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

Communion with Christ—how unspeakably precious! Such communion it is our privilege to enjoy, if we will seek it.

The everlasting assurance shall be yours that you have a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 28, 29.