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Deceitfulness of Riches
257
to him. He hunts for it. He goes to and fro in the earth like a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour. He does not always wear the
ferocious look of the lion, but when he can work to better effect he
transforms himself into an angel of light. He can readily exchange
the roar of the lion for the most persuasive arguments or for the
softest whisper. He has legions of angels to aid him in his work.
He often conceals his snares, and allures by pleasing deception. He
charms and deludes many by flattering their vanity. Through his
agents he presents the pleasures of the world in an attractive light,
and strews the path to hell with tempting flowers, and thus souls
are charmed and ruined. After every advance step in the downward
road, Satan has some special temptation to lead them still further on
the wrong track.
If your children were controlled by religious principles, they
would be fortified against the vice and corruption surrounding them
in this degenerate age. God will be to them a tower of strength, if
they will put their trust in Him. “Let him take hold of My strength,
that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with
Me.” The Lord will be the guide of their youth if they will believe
and trust in Him.
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My dear sister, the Lord has been very merciful to you and your
family. You are laid under obligation to your heavenly Father to
praise and glorify His holy name upon the earth. In order to continue
in His love, you should labor constantly for humbleness of mind and
that meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price.
Your strength in God will increase while you consecrate all to Him;
so that you can say with confidence: “Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” “For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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