Tag: happy Sabbath

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HS220813

#HappySabbath

It is of the highest importance that Sabbath keepers live out their faith in every particular. They should be prompt and neat, and keep their business matters all straight….

None should be so fearful of being like the world that it will lead them to be careless in their houses, leaving things in disorder and uncleanness. It is not pride to be neat in dress, cleanly in person, orderly and tasteful in their household arrangements…. These outside appearances tell the business character of those living in the house, and not only this but the religious character of its inmates. It is impossible for a slack, disorderly person to make a good Christian. Their lives, in temporal and religious things, are just as disorderly as their dress, houses, persons, and premises.

There is order in heaven. There are rules and regulations which govern the whole heavenly host. All move in order. All there is cleanly, all in perfect harmony. And everyone who will be counted worthy to enter heaven will be thoroughly disciplined and will be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. The uncultivated have spots and wrinkles upon them now. They had better lose no time in commencing the work of cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord.

God loves purity, cleanliness, order, and holiness. God requires all His people who lack these qualifications to seek them and never rest until they obtain them. They must commence the work of reform and elevate their lives, so that in conversation and deportment their acts, their lives, will be a continual recommendation of their faith and will have such a winning, compelling power upon unbelievers that they will be compelled to acknowledge that they are the children of God.

The truth as it is in Jesus will not degrade but elevate the receiver, purify his life, refine his taste, sanctify his judgment.

God is our Father, who loves and cares for us as His children; He is also the great King of the universe. The interests of His kingdom are our interests, and we are to work for its upbuilding. Heaven, p. 22.

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HS220730

#endtimez

#happysabbath

The end of all things is at hand. What we have done must not be allowed to place the period to our work. The Captain of our salvation says, “Advance. The night cometh, in which no man can work.” Constantly we are to increase in usefulness. Our lives are always to be under the power of Christ. Our lamps are to be kept burning brightly…. He who places himself where God can enlighten him, advances, as it were, from the partial obscurity of dawn to the full radiance of noonday.

How is it possible that we may grow in grace? It is possible to us only as we empty our hearts of self, and present them to Heaven, to be molded after the Divine Pattern. We may have a connection with the living channel of light; we may be refreshed with the heavenly dew, and have the showers of heaven descend upon us. As we appropriate the blessing of God, we shall be able to receive greater measures of His grace.

As little children we are to sit at the feet of Christ, learning of Him…. We should not allow a day to pass without gaining an increase of knowledge in temporal and spiritual things. We are to plant no stakes that we are not willing to take up and plant further on, nearer the heights we hope to ascend. The highest education is to be found in training the mind to advance day by day. The close of each day should find us a day’s march nearer the overcomer’s reward. Day by day our understanding is to ripen. Day by day we are to work out conclusions that will bring a rich reward in this life and in the life to come. Looking daily to Jesus, instead of to what we ourselves have done, we shall make decided advancement in temporal as well as spiritual knowledge.

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The unseen is illustrated by the seen. On everything upon the earth, from the loftiest tree of the forest to the lichen that clings to the rock, from the boundless ocean to the tiniest shell on the shore, they may behold the image and superscription of God.

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HS220723

As Christians, we must never forget that we are in the midst of a cosmic drama. The great controversy between Christ and Satan is unfolding all around us. The battle takes many shapes and is manifested in many ways. And though much is hidden, we can understand that, as followers of Christ, we have a part to play in this drama and can bring honor to Christ through our lives.

Robert Wadlow (1918 – 1940) was the tallest person in history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was known as the Alton Giant (or Giant of Illinois) because he was born in and grew up in Alton, Illinois. He reached a height of 8 feet, 11.1 inches and weighed 485 pounds at the time of his death at age 22.

How did Wadlow grow to be so large? Doctors believe it was caused by hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone. Robert showed no end to his growth, even at his death. His shoe size was 37AA. Unfortunately, his height had its drawbacks. He needed leg braces in order to walk and had little feeling in his legs and feet. Ten days before his death, while traveling on a tour, his ankle became infected because of a faulty leg brace. On July 15, 1940, he died in his sleep.

The Bible tells us that David fought against a giant named Goliath, who stood about 9-½ feet tall. His staff was “like a weaver’s beam,” which is the bar to which the long threads are fastened in a cloth-making loom, probably two inches in diameter. The iron spearhead weighed about 15 pounds.

Saul’s army stood shaking in their boots every time Goliath came out and defied the God of Israel. But David knew that while the weapons of man are no match for giants, he also understood that God’s power can save man. That’s true for you as well as you face your own giants.

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 1 Samuel 17:45

Children should be encouraged to search out in nature the objects that illustrate Bible teachings, and to trace in the Bible the similitudes drawn from nature. They should search out, both in nature and in Holy Writ, every object representing Christ, and those also that He employed in illustrating truth. Education, p. 120.

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HS220709

Christ came to demonstrate the value of the divine principles by revealing their power for the regeneration of humanity. He came to teach how these principles are to be developed and applied. Education, p. 77.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:20, 21.

Here is portrayed the value of eternal riches, in contrast with the treasures of earth. If the purpose and aim of your life is to lay up treasure in heaven, you will be lifted above the base, sordid, demoralizing influence of an inordinate desire to obtain wealth in this life. Laying up treasure in heaven will give nobility to the character; it will strengthen benevolence, encourage mercy; cultivate sympathy, brotherly kindness, and charity. It will unite the soul of man with Christ, by links that can never be broken. You may lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven by being rich in good works—rich in imperishable and spiritual things.

The instruction is to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” It is for our own interest that we secure heavenly riches. God is not benefited by our benevolence. The cattle upon a thousand hills are His. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” Psalm 24:1. But in using the gifts that He has entrusted to our care for the salvation of souls, we transfer our wealth to the treasury of heaven. When we are seeking the glory of God, and hasting unto the day of God, we are co-laborers with Christ, and our joy is not a base and fleeting emotion; but it is the joy of our Lord. We are elevated above the corroding, perplexing cares of this frail, fickle world.

While we are in this world, we are subject to losses and disappointments. Thieves break through and steal; moth and rust corrupt; fire and storm sweep away our possessions…. How many have devoted life and soul to acquiring wealth, but were not rich toward God; and when adversity came upon them, and their possessions were swept away, they had nothing laid up in heaven. They had lost all—both temporal and eternal riches….

Everything that is laid up upon earth may be swept away in a moment; but nothing can disturb the treasure that is laid up in heaven.12The Review and Herald, September 18, 1888.

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HS 220702

AN AMAZING FACT:
When Alexander the Great was leading his victorious armies down through Asia Minor, the great leader came at last to the foothills of the mighty Himalayas, beyond which lay the Khyber Pass and India. As far as Alexander was concerned, he was standing at the end of the world. You see, up until that time no maps had been made of the vast territory before him. As far as he knew he was marching his soldiers off the map of the world!

Often when ancient mapmakers reached the edge of what had been charted, they drew a line and depicted dragons and monsters beyond. You can understand why this practice didn’t exactly encourage exploration. One Roman commander in the first century had led his troops beyond the line on the map into “dragon territory.” He sent a courier back to Rome with a straightforward message: “We have just marched off the map. Please send new orders.”

In the same way, when Columbus first sailed west in search of a shortcut to the Indies, he knew he would be essentially sailing off the map into a region that mapmakers marked with sea monsters. Moreover, because of the unknown distance ahead, he loaded his ships with as many provisions as they could carry and set sail by faith across the trackless sea, believing God was urging him forward.

When we consider conditions in the world today, with the unprecedented change in every arena of life, it would seem we have reached a point in history where we are drifting off the map! But the good news is that nothing that happens takes God by surprise. All these things have been charted before in Bible prophecy. When Daniel was asked to interpret a strange dream of an ancient Babylonian king, he said, “But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days” (Daniel 2:28).

Nothing is hidden from God’s eyes, not even the ends of the earth. The past, present, and future are all before the Lord.

KEY BIBLE TEXTS:
For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing. Deuteronomy 2:7

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a coach’s right to pray on school grounds immediately after high school football games has raised concerns about the wall of separation between church and state. What is the issue, and should you be worried?

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Faith must not be coerced, but freely given.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness …

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Judgment

AN AMAZING FACT: When it came to measuring things in ancient times, the body ruled. At first an inch was the width of a man’s thumb. A hand was approximately five inches across. A span was the length of an outstretched hand. And a foot was the length of a foot, or about 11 inches. Today a foot is 12 inches.

There is a science to measuring things. Metrology literally means “the study of measurement.” It is broken into three fields: science, industry, and law. Calibration is a process in which metrology is applied to equipment and processes to ensure conformity with a standard of measurement. Without precise measurement, commerce would be a mess. Nine out of 10 people who work with measurements are employed in commercial applications.

Defined measurements sometimes were determined by kings. King Edward II of England ruled that one inch equaled three grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise. King Henry I of England fixed the yard as the distance from his nose to the thumb of his out-stretched arm. Lest you think such early measurements were silly, consider that dividing things into units occurred in ancient times and still impacts us today. The Romans used units of 12, and today we have 12 inches in a foot and 12 months in a year.

Jesus once said, “Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). You might wonder at how some foods are measured. Have you ever purchased and opened a cereal box only to find that it was half full? It’s disappointing, isn’t it—but don’t judge too quickly, as the contents have merely settled.

God encourages us to be generous in how we “measure” things. Don’t judge others too quickly. Believe the best of them. That’s just how the Lord treats us, giving us more than we ask for. It’s like the baker’s dozen.

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. James 2:13

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HS220604

A Christlike life is the most powerful argument that can be advanced in favor of Christianity.

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness. Psalm 95:7, 8.

No man can even once devote his God-given powers to the service of worldliness or pride without placing himself on the enemy’s ground…. Every repetition of the sin weakens his power of resistance, blinds his eyes, and stifles conviction….

The Lord sends us warning, counsel, and reproof, that we may have opportunity to correct our errors before they become second nature. But if we refuse to be corrected, God does not interfere to counteract the tendencies of our own course of action.

He works no miracle that the seed sown may not spring up and bear fruit. That man who manifests an infidel hardihood or a stolid indifference to divine truth, is but reaping the harvest which he has himself sown. Such has been the experience of many. They listen with stoical indifference to the truths which once stirred their very souls.

They sowed neglect, indifference, and resistance to the truth; and such is the harvest which they reap. The coldness of ice, the hardness of iron, the impenetrable, unimpressible nature of rock—all these find a counterpart in the character of many a professed Christian. It was thus that the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. God spoke to the Egyptian king by the mouth of Moses, giving him the most striking evidences of divine power; but the monarch stubbornly refused the light which would have brought him to repentance.

God did not send a supernatural power to harden the heart of the rebellious king, but as Pharaoh resisted the truth, the Holy Spirit was withdrawn, and he was left to the darkness and unbelief which he had chosen.

By persistent rejection of the Spirit’s influence, men cut themselves off from God. He has in reserve no more potent agency to enlighten their minds. No revelation of His will can reach them in their unbelief.

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Happy Sabbath 220409

PSALMS 24

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.		This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah
For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.		Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?		Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.		Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.		Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory.

Was the Sabbath Changed?

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Happy Sabbath 211106

Happy Sabbath 211106

God does not require us to give up anything that it is for our best interest to retain. In all that He does, He has the well-being of His children in view. Would that all who have not chosen Christ might realize that He has something vastly better to offer them than they are seeking for themselves. Man is doing the greatest injury and injustice to his own soul when he thinks and acts contrary to the will of God. No real joy can be found in the path forbidden by Him who knows what is best and who plans for the good of His creatures. The path of transgression is the path of misery and destruction. Steps to Christ, p. 46

From the Heart Devotional

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. Hebrews 6:10.

Christ has identified His interest with that of suffering humanity; and while He is neglected in the person of His afflicted ones, all our assemblies, all our appointed meetings, all the machinery that is set in operation to advance the cause of God, will be of little avail….

All who are to be saints in heaven will first be saints upon the earth. They will not follow the sparks of their own kindling, they will not work for praise nor speak words of vanity, nor put forth the finger in condemnation and oppression; but they will follow the Light of Life, diffuse light, comfort, hope, and courage to the very ones who need help, and not censure and reproach….

The rich, clear light that has been shining upon our pathway has placed us on vantage ground, and we should improve every opportunity to do good. Christ came from the royal courts of heaven to seek and save the lost, and this is to be our work. The zeal which we manifest in this direction will show the measure of our love for Jesus and for others, [the measure] of our efficiency and missionary spirit.

To every member of the church is committed a work, and their sanctification will be seen in the efficiency, the unselfishness, the zeal and purity and intelligence, with which they do the work. The cause of humanity and religion must not retrograde. Progress is expected of those who have received great light and have many advantages.

The church must be a working church if it would be a living church. It should not be content merely to hold its own against the opposing forces of sin and error, not be content to advance with dilatory step, but it should bear the yoke of Christ and keep step with the Leader, gaining new recruits along the way.

When we are truly Christ’s, our hearts will be full of meekness, gentleness, and kindness, because Jesus has forgiven our sins. As obedient children we shall receive and cherish the precepts He has given and shall attend to the ordinances He has instituted. We shall be seeking constantly to obtain a knowledge of Him.—The Review and Herald, May 1, 1913.

Psalms 26
Vindicate me, O Lord, For I have walked in my integrity.
I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip.
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.
For Your loving kindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.
I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked.
I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works.
Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells.
Do not gather my soul with sinners, Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
In whose hands is a sinister scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes.
But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me.
My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the Lord.

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Happy Sabbath 210320

Happy Sabbath 210320

Unprecedented Crisis

Love Bible Verses

The Changing Image of Spiritism

It is true that spiritualism is now changing its form and, veiling some of its more objectionable features, is assuming a Christian guise. But its utterances from the platform and the press have been before the public for many years, and in these its real character stands revealed.

These teachings cannot be denied or hidden. Even in its present form, so far from being more worthy of toleration than formerly, it is really a more dangerous, because a more subtle, deception. While it formerly denounced Christ and the Bible, it now professes to accept both. But the Bible is interpreted in a manner that is pleasing to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital truths are made of no effect. Love is dwelt upon as the chief attribute of God, but it is degraded to a weak sentimentalism, making little distinction between good and evil. God’s justice, His denunciations of sin, the requirements of His holy law, are all kept out of sight.

The people are taught to regard the Decalogue as a dead letter. Pleasing, bewitching fables captivate the senses and lead men to reject the Bible as the foundation of their faith. Christ is as verily denied as before; but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not discerned.

There are few who have any just conception of the deceptive power of spiritualism and the danger of coming under its influence. Many tamper with it merely to gratify their curiosity. They have no real faith in it and would be filled with horror at the thought of yielding themselves to the spirits’ control.

But they venture upon the forbidden ground, and the mighty destroyer exercises his power upon them against their will.

Let them once be induced to submit their minds to his direction, and he holds them captive. It is impossible, in their own strength, to break away from the bewitching, alluring spell. Nothing but the power of God, granted in answer to the earnest prayer of faith, can deliver these ensnared souls.

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