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Worldliness in the Church
171
and discriminate, will continue. Efforts must be made by every
individual to educate the mind.
I was shown that Brother V should seek for more spirituality.
You do not possess that calm trust in God which He requires you to
have. You do not train the mind to run in the channel of spirituality.
You indulge in too much vain, unnecessary talk, which injures your
own soul and injures your influence. You must encourage calmness
and fortitude of mind. You are easily excited; you have strong
feelings, and express in strong terms your likes and dislikes. You
need more good religion to have a soothing influence upon you. You
have been invited to learn of Christ, who is meek and lowly of heart.
Precious lesson! If well learned, it will transform the whole life.
Lightness and cheap talk are injurious to your spiritual advancement.
You should seek after perfection of character and let your influence
tell for God in your words and acts. You need to earnestly seek
the Lord and to take a deeper draught at the fountain of truth, that
its influence may sanctify your life. Your mind is too much on the
world. You should have your interest in the better life than this.
You have no time to lose; make haste and improve the few hours of
probation.
Your wife has had too much pride and selfishness. God has been
bringing her through the furnace of affliction to remove these spots
from her character. She must be very careful that the fire of affliction
does not kindle upon her in vain. It should remove the dross and
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bring her nearer to God, making her more spiritual. Her love of
the world must die. Love of self must be overcome and her will
swallowed up in the will of God.
I was shown that love of the world has to a great extent shut
Jesus from the church. God calls for a change, a surrender of all to
Him. Unless the mind is educated to dwell upon religious themes,
it will be weak and feeble in this direction. But while dwelling
upon worldly enterprises, it will be strong; for in this direction it has
been cultivated, and has strengthened with exercise. The reason it
is so difficult for men and women to live religious lives is because
they do not exercise the mind unto godliness. It is trained to run
in an opposite direction. Unless the mind is constantly exercised
in obtaining spiritual knowledge and in seeking to understand the
mystery of godliness, it is incapable of appreciating eternal things