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Trust and Obey, February 25
Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and
maketh flesh his arm.... Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord,
and whose hope the Lord is.
Jeremiah 17:5-7
.
Like the Jews in the days of Christ, many today hear and believe, but
are not willing to step out upon the platform of obedience, and accept the
truth as it is in Jesus. They are afraid of losing worldly advantages. Their
minds assent to the truth but to obey means to lift the cross of self-denial and
sacrifice, and to cease trusting in man and making flesh their arm, and they
turn away from the cross. They might sit at the feet of Jesus, learning daily
of Him whom to know aright is life eternal, but they are not willing.
Every one who is saved must surrender his own plans, his ambitious
schemes, which mean self-glorification, and follow where Christ leads the
way. The understanding must be yielded up to Christ, for Him to cleanse, and
refine, and purify. This will always be done when a right reception is given
to the teachings of the Lord Jesus. It is hard for self to die daily, even when
the wondrous story of God’s grace is presented with the wealth of His love,
which He unfolds to the soul’s necessity.
O how much we need a more intimate acquaintance with the Lord Jesus.
We need to enter into His will and carry out His purposes, saying with the
whole heart, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” O how I long to see
our churches in a condition different from the condition in which they now
are—grieving the Holy Spirit day by day with their lukewarm religious life, a
life neither cold nor hot. Christ says, “I would thou wert cold or hot. So then
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of
my mouth” (
Revelation 3:15, 16
).
O how greatly Christ would be honored and glorified before irreligious,
worldly men and women if His followers were what they claim to be—true
Christians, the love of Christ constraining them to make Him known before
an idolatrous world, showing the marked contrast between those who serve
God and those who serve Him not....We are to tell others of the love of Christ,
and in order to do this, we must know by experience what it means to have
this love in the heart. All will find abundant opportunities to work if they will
improve the opportunities that come to them.—
Letter 35, February 25, 1903
,
to Sister L. M. Hall, a faithful co-worker and for many years matron of the
Battle Creek Sanitarium.
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