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Right Methods, Principles, and Motives
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Men in every position of trust need to take their place in the
school of Christ, and heed the injunction of the Great Teacher:
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“Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find
rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
We have no excuse for manifesting one wrong trait of character.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts.” In your dealing with others, whatever you see or hear that
needs to be corrected, first seek the Lord for wisdom and grace, that
in trying to be faithful you may not be rude. Ask Him to give you the
gentleness of Christ; then you will be true to your duty, true to your
position of trust, and true to God, a faithful steward, overcoming
natural and acquired tendencies to evil.
None but a wholehearted Christian can be a perfect gentleman;
but if Christ is abiding in the soul His spirit will be revealed in the
manner, the words, and the actions. Gentleness and love cherished
in the heart will appear in self-denial, in true courtesy. Such workers
will be the light of the world.
* * * * *
The Need of Spiritual Discernment
[Special Testimonies, Series A 6:3-17 (1896).]
On the steamer “Alameda” on the broad ocean,
November 17, 1891.
Redemption is part of the divine nature. It is the prerogative
of God to have to reconstruct, not to destroy. The Son of God was
given to die before the foundation of the world. The existence of
sin is unexplainable; therefore not a soul knows what God is until
he sees himself in the light reflected from the cross of Calvary, and
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detests himself as a sinner in the bitterness of his soul. When his
soul cries out in great need for a sin-pardoning Saviour, then God is
revealed as gracious, full of compassion and forgiveness and love,
long-suffering and patience. Individually, as church members, we
are, if faithful servants of Jesus Christ, laborers together with God.
When one is bruised by the enemy and wounded and commits error,
as faithful and true to the Master, as workers together with God, we