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A God-given Faith, July 5
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by
the same Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:9
.
Faith, too, is the gift of God. Faith is the assent of man’s understanding
to God’s words, that binds the heart to God’s service. And whose is man’s
understanding, if it be not God’s? Whose the heart, if it be not God’s? To
have faith is to render to God the intellect, the energy, that we have received
from Him; therefore those who exercise faith do not themselves deserve
any credit. Those who believe so firmly in a heavenly Father that they can
trust Him with unlimited confidence; those who by faith can reach beyond
the grave to the eternal realities beyond, must pour forth to their Maker the
confession “All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee” (
1
Chronicles 29:14
).
No man has a right to call himself his own. And no man possesses any
good thing that he can call his own. Every man, every thing, is the property of
the Lord. All that man receives from the bounty of heaven is still the Lord’s.
Whatever knowledge he has that in any way helps him to be an intelligent
workman in God’s cause is from the Lord, and should be imparted by him
to his fellow men, in order that they, too, may become valuable workmen.
He to whom God has entrusted unusual gifts should return to the Lord’s
storehouse that which he has received, by freely giving to others the benefit
of his blessings. Thus God will be honored and glorified....
Heavenly bestowed capabilities should not be made to serve selfish ends.
Every energy, every endowment, is a talent that should contribute to God’s
glory by being used in His service. His gifts are to be put out to the exchangers,
that He may receive His own, with usury. The talents that fit a man for service
are entrusted to him not only that he may be an acceptable worker himself,
but that he may also be enabled to teach others who in some respects are
deficient.—
The Review and Herald, December 1, 1904
.
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