Chap.
32 - Religion in the Daily Life
Brother H: I was shown that you
really love the truth, but that you are
not sanctified through it. You
have a great work before you to do. “Every
man that hath this hope in Him
purifieth himself, even as He is pure.”
You have this work to do, and you
have no time to lose. I was shown that
your life has been a stormy one.
You have not been right yourself; but
you have been deeply wronged, and
your motives have been misjudged.
But your disappointments and
pecuniary losses have, in the providence
of God, been overruled for your
good.
It has been difficult for you to
feel that your heavenly Father is still
your kind benefactor. Your
troubles and perplexities have had a tendency
to discourage, and you have felt
that death would be preferable to life.
But at a certain time, could your
eyes have been opened, you would
have seen angels of God seeking
to save you from yourself. The angels
of God led you where you could
receive the truth and plant your feet
upon a foundation that would be
more firm than the everlasting hills.
Here you saw light and cherished
it. New faith, new life, sprang up in
your pathway. God in His
providence connected you with His work
in the office of the Pacific
Press. He has been at work for you, and
you should see His guiding hand.
Sorrow has been your portion; but
you have brought much of it upon
yourself because you have not had
self-control. You have been very
severe at times. You have a quick
temper, which must be overcome.
In your life you have been in danger,
either of indulging in
self-confidence or else of throwing yourself away
and becoming despondent. A
continual dependence upon the word and
providence of God will qualify
you to exert your powers wholly for
your Redeemer, who has called
you, saying: “Follow Me.” You should
cultivate a spirit of entire
submission to the will of God, earnestly, humbly
seeking to know His ways and to
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follow the leadings of His
Spirit. You must not lean to your own
understanding. You should have
deep distrust of your own wisdom and
supposed prudence. Your condition
demands these cautions. It is unsafe
for man to confide in his own
judgment. He has limited capacities at
best, and many have received, as
their birthright, both strong and weak
points of character, which are
positive defects. These peculiarities color
the entire life.
The wisdom which God gives will
lead men to self-examination. The
truth will convict them of their
errors and existing wrongs. The heart
must be open to see, realize, and
acknowledge these wrongs, and then,
through the help of Jesus, each
must earnestly engage in the work of
overcoming them. The knowledge
gained by the wise of the world,
however diligent they may be in
acquiring it, is, after all, limited and
comparatively inferior. But few
comprehend the ways and works of God
in the mysteries of His
providence. They advance a few steps, and then
are unable to touch bottom or
shore. It is the superficial thinker who
deems himself wise. Men of solid
worth, of high attainments, are the
most ready to admit the weakness
of their own understanding. God wants
everyone who claims to be His
disciple to be a learner, to be more inclined
to learn than to teach.
How many men in this age of the
world fail to go deep enough.
They only skim the surface. They
will not think closely enough to see
difficulties and grapple with
them, and will not examine every important
subject which comes before them
with thoughtful, prayerful study and
with sufficient caution and
interest to see the real point at issue. They talk
of matters which they have not
fully and carefully weighed. Frequently
persons of mind and candor have
opinions of their own which need to
be firmly resisted, or these of
less mental strength will be in danger of
being misled. Through the mental
bias, habits are formed, and customs,
feelings, and wishes have a
greater or less influence. Sometimes a course
of conduct is pursued every day,
and persisted in, because it is
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a habit, and not because the
judgment approves. In these cases, feeling,
rather than duty, bears sway.
If we could understand our own
weakness, and see the sharp traits
in our character which need
repressing, we should see so much to do
for ourselves that we would
humble our hearts under the mighty hand of
God. Hanging our helpless souls
upon Christ, we should supplement our
ignorance with His wisdom, our
weakness with His strength, our frailty
with His enduring might, and, connected
with God, we should indeed be
lights in the world.
Dear brother, God loves you, and
is very patient toward you,
notwithstanding your many errors
and mistakes. In view of the tender,
pitying love of God exercised in
your behalf, should you not be more
kind, forbearing, patient, and
forgiving to your children? Your harshness
and severity is weaning their
hearts from you. You cannot give them
lessons in regard to patience,
forbearance, long-suffering, and gentleness,
when you are overbearing and manifest
temper in dealing with them.
They have the stamp of character
which their parents have given them;
and if you wish to counsel and
direct them, and turn them from following
any wrong course, the object
cannot be gained by harshness and that
which looks to them like tyranny.
When in the fear of God you can advise
and counsel them with all the
solicitude and tender love which a father
should manifest toward an erring
child, then you will have demonstrated
to them that there is power in
the truth to transform those who receive
it. When your children do not act
according to your ideas, instead of
manifesting sorrow for their
wrongs, and earnestly pleading with and
praying for them, you fly into a
passion and pursue a course that will
do them no good, but will only
wean their affections and finally separate
them from you.
Your youngest son is perverse; he
does not do right. His heart is in
rebellion against God and the
truth. He is affected by influences which
only make him coarse, rough, and
uncourteous. He is a trial to you, and,
unless converted, he will be a
great tax upon your patience. But harshness
and
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overbearing severity will not
reform him. You must seek to do what you
can for him in the spirit of Christ,
not in your own spirit, not under the
influence of passion. You must
control yourself in the management of
your children. You must remember
that Justice has a twin sister, Mercy.
When you would exercise justice,
show mercy, tenderness, and love, and
you will not labor in vain.
Your son has a perverse will, and
he needs the most judicious
discipline. Consider what have
been your children’s surroundings, how
unfavorable to the formation of
good characters. They need pity and love.
The youngest is now in the most
critical period of his life. The intellect is
now taking shape; the affections
are receiving their impress. The whole
future career of this young man
is being determined by the course he now
pursues. He is entering upon the
path which leads to virtue, or that which
leads to vice. I appeal to the
young man to fill his mind with images of
truth and purity. It will be no
advantage to him to indulge in sin. He may
flatter himself that it is very
pleasant to sin and to have his own way; but
it is a fearful way after all. If
he loves the society of those who love sin
and love to do evil, his thoughts
will run in a low channel, and he will see
nothing attractive in purity and
holiness. But could he see the end of the
transgressor, that the wages of
sin is death, he would be overcome with
alarm and would cry out: “O my
Father, be Thou the guide of my youth.”
His success in this life depends
very much upon the course he now
pursues. The responsibilities of
life must be borne by him. He has
not been a promising youth. He
has been impatient and is wanting in
self-control. This is the seed
his father is sowing, which will produce a
harvest for the sower to reap. “Whatsoever
a man soweth, that shall he
also reap.” With what care should
we cast in the seed, knowing that we
must reap as we have sown. Jesus
still loves this young man. He died
for him and invites him to come
to His arms and find in Him peace and
happiness, quiet and rest. This
youth is forming associations which will
mold his whole life. He
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should connect with God and
without delay give to Him his unreserved
affections. He should not
hesitate. Satan will make his fiercest assaults
upon him, but he must not be
overcome by temptation.
I have been shown the dangers of
youth. Their hearts are full of
high anticipations, and they see
the downward road strewn with tempting
pleasures which look very
inviting; but death is there. The narrow path
to life may appear to them to be
destitute of attractions, a path of thorns
and briers, but it is not. It is
the path which requires a denial of sinful
pleasures; it is a narrow path,
cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to
walk in. None can walk this path
and carry with them their burdens
of pride, self-will, deceit,
falsehood, dishonesty, passion, and the carnal
lusts. The path is so narrow that
these things will have to be left behind
by those who walk in it, but the
broad road is wide enough for sinners to
travel it with all their sinful
propensities.
Young man, if you reject Satan
with all his temptations you may walk
in the footsteps of your Redeemer
and have the peace of heaven, the
joys of Christ. You cannot be
happy in the indulgence of sin. You may
flatter yourself that you are
happy, but real happiness you cannot know.
The character is becoming
deformed by the indulgence of sin. Danger is
encountered at every downward
step, and those who could help the youth
do not see or realize it. The
kind and tender interest which should be
taken in the young is not
manifested. Many might be kept from sinful
influences if they were
surrounded with good associations and had words
of kindness and love spoken to
them.
My dear brother, I hope you will
not become discouraged because
your feelings so often master you
when your way or will is crossed.
Never despond. Flee to the
Stronghold. Watch and pray, and try again.
“Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He
will draw nigh to you.”
Upon another point be guarded.
You are not at all times as cautious
as you should be to abstain from
the very appearance
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of evil. You are in danger of
being too familiar with the sisters, of talking
with them in a light and foolish
way. This will injure your influence.
Guard carefully all these points;
watch against the first approach of the
tempter. You are highly nervous
and excitable. Tea has an influence to
excite the nerves, and coffee
benumbs the brain; both are highly injurious.
You should be careful of your
diet. Eat the most wholesome, nourishing
food, and keep yourself in a calm
state of mind, where you will not
become so excited and fly into a
passion.
You can be of great service in
the office, for you can fill a place of
importance if you will become
transformed; but as you now are you will
certainly fail of doing what you
might do. I have been shown that you
are rough and coarse in your
feelings. These need to be softened, refined,
elevated. In all your course of
action you should discipline yourself to
habits of self-control. With the
spirit you now possess you can never
enter heaven.
“Beloved, now are we the sons of
God.” Can any human dignity equal
this? What higher position can we
occupy than to be called the sons of
the infinite God? You would be
ready to do some great thing for the
Master; but the very things which
would please Him most, you do not
do. Will you not be faithful in
overcoming self, that you may have the
peace of Christ and an indwelling
Saviour?
Your afflicted son needs to be
dealt with calmly and tenderly; he
needs your compassion. He should
not be exposed to your insane temper
and unreasonable demands. You
must reform in respect to the spirit you
manifest. Ungovernable passion
will not be subdued in a moment; but
your lifework is before you to
rid the garden of the heart of the poisonous
weeds of impatience,
faultfinding, and an overbearing disposition. “The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance.”
They that are Christ’s have crucified the
flesh, with its affections and
lusts; but the brutish part of your nature takes
the lines of control and guides
the spiritual. This is God’s order reversed.
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Your faithfulness in labor is
praiseworthy. Others in the office would
do well to imitate your example
of fidelity, diligence, and thoroughness.
But you lack the graces of the
Spirit of God. You are an intelligent man,
but your powers have been abused.
Jesus presents to you His grace,
patience, and love. Will you
accept the gift? Be careful of your words
and actions. You are sowing seed
in your daily life. Every thought, every
word uttered, and every action
performed, is seed cast into the soil, which
will spring up and bear fruit to
life eternal or to misery and corruption.
Think, my brother, how the angels
of God look upon your sad state when
you let passion control you. And
then it is written in the books of heaven.
As is the seed sown, so will be
the harvest. You must reap that which you
have sown.
You should control the appetite
and in the name of Jesus be a
conqueror on this point. Your
health may improve with correct habits.
Your nervous system is greatly
shattered; but the Great Physician can
heal your body as well as your
soul. Make His power your dependence,
His grace your strength, and your
physical, moral, and spiritual powers
will be greatly improved. You
have more to overcome than some others,
and therefore will have more
severe conflicts; but Jesus will regard your
earnest efforts; He knows just
how hard you have to work to keep self
under the control of His Spirit.
Place yourself in the hands of Jesus.
Self-culture should be your
business, with the object before you of being
a blessing to your children and
to all with whom you associate. Heaven
will look with pleasure upon
every victory you gain in the work of
overcoming. If you put away anger
and passion, and look unto Jesus, who
is the Author and Finisher of
your faith, you may, through His merits,
develop a Christian character.
Make a decided change at once, and be
determined that you will act a
part worthy of the intellect with which
God has endowed you.
When I was shown the present
condition of man in physical, mental,
and moral power, and what he
might become through the merits of Christ,
I was astonished that he should
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preserve such a low level. Man
may grow up into Christ, his living head.
It is not the work of a moment,
but that of a lifetime. By growing daily
in the divine life, he will not
attain to the full stature of a perfect man
in Christ until his probation
ceases. The growing is a continuous work.
Men with fiery passions have a
constant conflict with self; but the harder
the battle, the more glorious
will be the victory and the eternal reward.
You are connected with the office
of publication. In this position your
peculiar traits of character will
be developed. The little courtesies of life
should be cherished. A pleasant
and amiable temper, blended with a firm
principle of justice and honesty,
will make you a man of influence. Now
is the time to obtain a moral
fitness for heaven. The church to which you
belong must have the refining,
elevating grace of Christ. God requires His
followers to be men of good report,
as well as to be pure, elevated, and
honest; kind, as well as
faithful. It is essential to be right in the weightier
matters; but this is no excuse
for negligence in things apparently of less
importance. The principles of the
law of God must be developed in the
life and character. An amiable
temper, combined with firm integrity and
faithfulness, will constitute a
moral fitness for any position. The apostle
Peter exhorts: “Be courteous.”
We must be learners in the school
of Christ. We cannot imitate
His example unless we are
pleasing in disposition and condescending
in deportment. True Christian
politeness should be cultivated. No one
else can lessen our influence as
we ourselves can lessen it through the
indulgence of uncontrollable
temper. A naturally petulant man does not
know true happiness, and is
seldom content. He is ever hoping to get
into a more favorable position,
or to so change his surroundings that he
will have peace and rest of mind.
His life seems to be burdened with
heavy crosses and trials, when,
had he controlled his temper and bridled
his tongue, many of these
annoyances might have been avoided. It is the
“soft answer” which “turneth away
wrath.” Revenge has never
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conquered a foe. A well-regulated
temper exerts a good influence on all
around; but “he that hath no rule
over his own spirit is like a city that is
broken down, and without walls.”
Consider the life of Moses.
Meekness in the midst of murmuring,
reproach, and provocation
constituted the brightest trait in his character.
Daniel was of a humble spirit.
Although he was surrounded with distrust
and suspicion, and his enemies
laid a snare for his life, yet he never
deviated from principle. He
maintained a serene and cheerful trust in
God. Above all, let the life of
Christ teach you. When reviled, He reviled
not again; when He suffered, He
threatened not. This lesson you must
learn, or you will never enter
heaven. Christ must be made your strength.
In His name you will be more than
conqueror. No enchantment against
Jacob, nor divination against
Israel, will prevail. If your soul is riveted
to the eternal Rock, you are
safe. Come joy or come sorrow, nothing can
sway you from the right.
You have been afloat in the
world, but the eternal truth will prove an
anchor to you. You need to guard
your faith. Do not move from impulse
nor entertain vague theories.
Experimental faith in Christ and submission
to the law of God are of the
highest consequence to you. Be willing to
take the advice and counsel of
those who have experience. Make no
delay in the work of overcoming.
Be true to yourself, to your children,
and to God. Your afflicted son
needs to be tenderly dealt with. As a
father you should remember that
the nerves that can thrill with pleasure
can also thrill with keenest
pain. The Lord identifies His interest with
that of suffering humanity.
Many parents forget their
accountability to God to so educate their
children for usefulness and duty
that they will be a blessing to themselves
and to others. Children are often
indulged from their babyhood, and
wrong habits become fixed. The
parents have been bending the sapling.
By their course of training, the
character develops, either into deformity
or into symmetry and beauty. But
while many err upon the side of
indulgence, others go to the
opposite extreme and rule
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their children with a rod of
iron. Neither of these follow out the Bible
directions, but both are doing a
fearful work. They are molding the minds
of their children and must render
an account in the day of God for the
manner in which they have done
this. Eternity will reveal the results of
the work done in this life. “As
the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined.”
Your manner of government is
wrong, decidedly wrong. You are not a
tender, pitiful father. What an
example do you give your children in your
insane outbursts of passion! What
an account will you have to render to
God for your perverse discipline!
If you would have the love and respect
of your children, you must
manifest affection for them. The indulgence
of passion is never excusable; it
is always blind and perverse.
God calls upon you to change your
course of action. You can be
a useful and efficient man in the
office if you will make determined
efforts to overcome. Do not set
up your views as a criterion. The Lord
connected you with His people
that you might be a learner in the school
of Christ. Your ideas have been
perverted; you must not now lean to your
own understanding. You cannot be
saved unless your spirit is changed.
Notwithstanding the fact that
Moses was the meekest man that lived upon
the earth, on one occasion he
drew the displeasure of God upon himself.
He was harassed greatly by the
murmuring of the children of Israel for
water. The undeserved reproaches
of the people which fell upon him led
him for a moment to forget that
their murmuring was not against him, but
against God; and instead of being
grieved because the Spirit of God was
insulted, he became irritated,
offended, and in a self-willed, impatient
manner struck the rock twice
saying: “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch
you water out of this rock?”
Moses and Aaron put themselves forward in
God’s place, as though the
miracle had been wrought by them. They did
not exalt God, but themselves,
before the people. Many will ultimately
fail of eternal life because they
indulge in a similar course.
Moses revealed great weakness
before the people. He
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showed a marked lack of
self-control, a spirit similar to that possessed
by the murmurers. He should have
been an example of forbearance
and patience before that
multitude, who were ready to excuse their
failures, disaffections, and
unreasonable murmurings, on account of this
exhibition of wrong on his part.
The greatest sin consisted in assuming to
take the place of God. The
position of honor that Moses had heretofore
occupied did not lessen his
guilt, but greatly magnified it. Here was a
man hitherto blameless, now
fallen. Many in a similar position would
reason that their sin would be
overlooked because of their long life of
unwavering fidelity. But no; it
was a more serious matter for a man who
had been honored of God to show
weakness of character in the exhibition
of passion than if he had
occupied a less responsible position. Moses
was a representative of Christ,
but how sadly was the figure marred!
Moses had sinned, and his past
fidelity could not atone for the present sin.
The whole company of Israel was
making history for future generations.
This history the unerring pen of
inspiration must trace with exact fidelity.
Men of all future time must see
the God of heaven is a firm ruler, in no
case justifying sin. Moses and
Aaron must die without entering Canaan,
subjected to the same punishment
that fell upon those in a more lowly
position. They bowed in
submission, though with anguish of heart that
was inexpressible; but their love
for and confidence in God was unshaken.
Their example is a lesson that
many pass over without learning from it as
they should. Sin does not appear
sinful. Self-exaltation does not appear
to them grievous.
But few realize the sinfulness of
sin; they flatter themselves that God
is too good to punish the
offender. The cases of Moses and Aaron, of
David, and numerous others, show
that it is not a safe thing to sin in
word or thought or deed. God is a
Being of infinite love and compassion.
In the parting address which
Moses gave to the children of Israel he said:
“For the Lord thy God is a
consuming fire, even a jealous God.” The
touching plea made by Moses that
he might be
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privileged to enter Canaan was
steadfastly refused. The transgression at
Kadesh had been open and marked;
and the more exalted the position of
the offender, the more
distinguished the man, the firmer was the decree
and the more certain the
punishment.
Dear brother, be warned. Be true
to the light which shines upon your
pathway. Said Paul: “I keep under
my body, and bring it into subjection:
lest that by any means, when I
have preached to others, I myself should
be a castaway.”
*****
Chap. 33 - Consecration in
Ministers
Three years ago the Lord gave me
a view of things past, present, and
future. I saw young men preaching
the truth, some of whom, at that time,
had not yet received it
themselves. They have since taken hold of the
truth and are trying to lead
others to it. I was shown your case, Brother
I. Your past life has not been of
a character to lead you away from and
above yourself. You are naturally
selfish and self-sufficient, having all
confidence in your own strength.
This will prevent you from acquiring
the experience necessary to make
you a humble, efficient minister of
Christ.
There are many in the field who
are in a similar condition. They
can present the theory of the
truth, but are wanting in true godliness. If
the ministers now laboring in the
gospel field, yourself included, felt the
necessity of daily examination of
self and daily communion with God,
they would then be in a condition
to receive the words from God to be
given to the people. Your words
and daily life will be a savor of life unto
life or of death unto death.
You may intelligently believe the
truth, but the work is still before
you to bring every action of your
life and every emotion of your heart
into harmony with your faith. The
prayer of Christ for His disciples just
prior to His crucifixion was: “Sanctify
them through Thy truth: Thy word
is truth.” The
371
Testimonies
for the Church
Volume
Four
Ellen
G. White
1881
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