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Testimonies for the Church Volume 4
The word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”
The heart preoccupied with the word of God is fortified against Satan.
Those who make Christ their daily companion and familiar friend will
feel that the powers of an unseen world are all around them; and by
looking unto Jesus they will become assimilated to His image. By
beholding they become changed to the divine pattern; their character
is softened, refined, and ennobled for the heavenly kingdom.
When a true, earnest zeal is manifested in your character and works,
brethren of the-----church, unbelievers will see by your deportment,
and feel in your presence, that you have a peace of which they have no
knowledge, a serenity to which they are strangers. They will believe
that you are working for God, for your works will be wrought in Him.
I was shown that this is the characteristic of a Christian. Satan has
destroyed many souls by leading them to place themselves in the way
of temptation. He comes to them as he came to Christ, tempting them
to love the world. He tells them that they may invest with profit in this
or that enterprise, and in good faith they follow his dictation. Soon they
are tempted to swerve from their integrity in order to make as good
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bargains for themselves as possible. Their course may be perfectly
lawful according to the world’s standard of right and yet not bear the
test of the law of God. Their motives are called in question by their
brethren, and they are suspected of over-reaching to serve themselves
and thus is sacrificed that precious influence which should have been
sacredly guarded for the benefit of the cause of God. That business
which might be a financial success in the hands of a sharper who will
sell his integrity for worldly gain would be entirely inappropriate for a
follower of Christ.
All such speculations are attended with unseen trials and diffi-
culties, and are a fearful ordeal for those who engage in them. Cir-
cumstances often occur which naturally cause reflections to be cast
upon the motives of these brethren; but although some things may
look decidedly wrong, these should not always be considered a true
test of character. Yet they often prove to be the turning point in one’s
experience and destiny. The character becomes transformed by the
force of circumstances under which the individual has placed himself.
I was shown that it is a dangerous experiment for our people to
engage in speculation. They thereby place themselves on the en-