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Closer to Jesus, December 13
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse
your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
James 4:7, 8
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When temptation comes upon us, we need spiritual discernment, that we
may detect Satan’s agency, and draw close to Jesus. Draw nigh to God, and
He will draw nigh to you. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Every
moment it is necessary to fight the good fight of faith; for doubt must be
resisted, and faith must be encouraged. In temptation, inclination must be
overruled by reason. Self will clamor for indulgence, but inclination must be
resisted, and temptation overcome.
The Lord has given warnings, He has presented principles that it is nec-
essary for every Christian to heed, and bring into his practical life. Those
who pass on in indifference to the light and warning which God has been
pleased to give will grow more and more egotistical and self-sufficient. Those
who do not place their dependence upon God will certainly be overthrown by
the enemy. Satan is working by every conceivable device to keep in his own
ranks those who claim to be on the Lord’s side. He can blind their eyes until
they will call light darkness, and darkness light....
Though the light of God is shining in more distinct rays than ever before,
and will shine more and more clearly as we near the close of earth’s history,
those who will be able to discern truth from error will be men who are often
upon their knees, seeking wisdom from God. The bright beams of the Sun
of righteousness can alone reveal the numerous and varied plottings of the
enemy. The wicked one is at work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness;
and while we are not to keep our eyes upon the powers of darkness, we cannot
be ignorant of their devices.
But our faith must center in Jesus Christ. Looking unto Him, clinging
to His strength as sufficient for every emergency, our heart joins His heart,
our life is knit by hidden links to His life, and because He lives, we shall live
also. This is practical religion; for we are to be kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation. No one of us can be safe save as we join the
Lord in a perpetual covenant, that shall not be forgotten by us.—
The Review
and Herald, March 14, 1893
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