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positions of trust. They will be fortified against the temptations that
will beset them on the right hand and on the left. But if they are thor-
oughly instructed and consecrated, they may be called, as was Daniel,
to fill important responsibilities. Daniel was a faithful statesman in the
courts of Babylon; for he feared, loved, and trusted God; and in time of
temptation and peril he was preserved by the power of God. We read
that God gave Daniel wisdom, and endowed him with understanding.
Those who obtain a knowledge of God’s will, and practice the
teaching of his word, will be found faithful in whatever position of
trust they may be placed. Consider this, parents, and place your
children where they will be educated in the principles of truth, where
every effort will be made to help them to maintain their consecration, if
converted, or if unconverted, to influence them to become the children
of God, and thus fit them to go forth to win others to the truth.—
Extracts from an article in the Bible Echo for Sept. 1, 1892.
Above all other people on the earth, the man whose mind is en-
lightened by the opening of God’s word to his understanding, will feel
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that he must give himself to diligence in the perusal of the word of
God, and to a diligent study of the sciences; for his hope and calling
are greater than any other. The more closely connected man is with the
Source of all knowledge and wisdom, the more he can be advantaged
intellectually, as well as spiritually, through his relation to God.
The opening of God’s word is followed by remarkable strengthen-
ing of man’s faculties; for the entrance of God’s word is the application
of divine truth to the heart, purifying and refining the soul through the
agency of the Holy Spirit.
The mind devoted unreservedly to God, under the guidance of
the divine Spirit, develops generally and harmoniously. The weak,
vacillating character becomes changed through the power of God to one
of strength and steadfastness. Continual devotion and piety establish
so close a relation between Jesus and his disciple, that the Christian
becomes like him in mind and character. After association with the
Son of God, the humble follower of Christ is found to be a person
of sound principle, clear perception, and reliable judgment. He has a
connection with God, the source of light and understanding. He who
longed to be of service to the cause of Christ, has been so quickened
by the life-giving rays of the Sun of Righteousness, that he has been
enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God.