Qualifications for Successful Christian Service
233
of the Saviour’s love. Let these cherish every desire of the soul after
God.—
Gospel Workers, 274
.
To our ministers, physicians, teachers, and all others engaged in
any line of service for the Master, I have a message to bear. The Lord
bids you to come up higher, to reach a holier standard. You must have
an experience much deeper than you have yet even thought of having.
Many who are already members of God’s great family know little of
what it means to behold His glory, and to be changed from glory to
glory. Many of you have a twilight perception of Christ’s excellence,
[239]
and your souls thrill with joy. You long for a fuller, deeper sense of
the Saviour’s love. You are unsatisfied. But do not despair. Give to
Jesus the heart’s best and holiest affections. Treasure every ray of light.
Cherish every desire of the soul after God. Give yourselves the culture
of spiritual thoughts and holy communings. You have seen by the first
rays of the early dawn of His glory. As you follow on to know the
Lord, you will know that His going forth is prepared as the morning.
“The path of the righteous is as the light of dawn, that shineth more
and more unto the perfect day.” Having repented of our sins, confessed
them, and found pardon, we are to continue to learn of Christ, until
we come into the full noontide of a perfect gospel faith.—
Testimonies
for the Church 8:318
.
Prudence and Forethought
While Nehemiah implored the help of God, he did not fold his
own hands, feeling that he had no more care or responsibility in the
bringing about of his purpose to restore Jerusalem. With admirable
prudence and forethought he proceeded to make all the arrangements
necessary to insure the success of the enterprise. Every movement
was marked with great caution.—
The Southern Watchman, March 15,
1904
.
The example of this holy man [Nehemiah] should be a lesson to
all the people of God, that they are not only to pray in faith, but to
work with diligence and fidelity. How many difficulties we encounter,
how often we hinder the working of Providence in our behalf, because
prudence, forethought, and painstaking are regarded as having little to
do with religion! This is a grave mistake. It is our duty to cultivate and
to exercise every power that will render us more efficient workers for