Chapter 61—Worldly-Mindedness
Dear Brother F,
It is time that we were closely examining our hearts to see whether
or not we are in the faith and in the love of God. If there is not
an awakening among us who have had so great light and so many
privileges, we shall sink to ruin, and our fate will be worse than that
of Chorazin and Bethsaida; “for,” as Christ said of those cities, “if the
mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and
Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”
It is high time that you were deeply in earnest for your own soul
and for the souls of your children. Your calling in Christ requires
this. My soul is weighed down with grief, my heart is sick and sad,
as I contemplate your condition; for I know that unless you are a
transformed man, your anchorage will be continually shifting. Oh,
“seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while
He is near.” I entreat of you to humble your heart before God and
never, never give over the effort till you are a different man. I feel a
deep interest in your spiritual condition and want to see you striving
earnestly for your own salvation and for that of your dear children,
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who I know are managed very much as Eli managed his children. Let
all your influence be on the Lord’s side. Let your children see that you
are not a creature of impulse, but a man of unwavering principle. They
will copy the pattern you give them. Until I see a change in you for
the better I shall continue to plead with you and exhort you.
We are nearing the close of time. We want not only to teach present
truth in the pulpit, but to live it out of the pulpit. Examine closely the
foundation of your hope of salvation. While you stand in the position
of a herald of truth, a watchman upon the walls of Zion, you cannot
have your interest interwoven with mining or real-estate business and
at the same time do effectually the sacred work committed to your
hands. Where the souls of men are at stake, where eternal things
are involved, the interest cannot safely be divided. This is especially
so in your case. While engaged in this business, you have not been
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