Sunday, December 31, 2017

Daily Devotional

December 31, 2017

Special Endowment of Grace and Power Needed Today

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10, NKJV.

The great controversy between good and evil will increase in intensity to the very close of time. In all ages the wrath of Satan has been manifested against the church of Christ; and God has bestowed His grace and Spirit upon His people to strengthen them to stand against the power of the evil one. When the apostles of Christ were to bear His gospel to the world and to record it for all future ages, they were especially endowed with the enlightenment of the Spirit.

But as the church approaches its final deliverance, Satan is to work with greater power. He comes down "having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time" (Revelation 12:12).... For six thousand years that mastermind that once was highest among the angels of God has been wholly bent to the work of deception and ruin. And all the depths of satanic skill and subtlety acquired, all the cruelty developed, during these struggles of the ages, will be brought to bear against God's people in the final conflict.

And in this time of peril the followers of Christ are to bear to the world the warning of the Lord's second advent; and a people are to be prepared to stand before Him at His coming, "without spot, and blameless" (2 Peter 3:14). At this time the special endowment of divine grace and power is not less needful to the church than in apostolic days....

Satan's efforts to misrepresent the character of God, to cause men and women to cherish a false conception of the Creator, and thus to regard Him with fear and hate rather than with love; his endeavors to set aside the divine law, leading the people to think themselves free from its requirements; and his persecution of those who dare to resist his deceptions have been steadfastly pursued in all ages. They may be traced in the history of patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, of martyrs and reformers. - The Great Controversy, ix-xi.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 349.

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Thought of the Day

December 31, 2017

Don't be surprised at this time by events both great and decisive for the angel of mercy cannot remain much longer to shelter the impenitent. PK 278

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Thought of the Day

December 31, 2017

The eye of faith alone can look beyond the things of time to estimate aright the worth of the eternal riches. - AA 575

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Daily readings for 2017-12-31: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 334 of 335

All Who Repent Will Be Forgiven and Accepted, December 31

Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1, NKJV.

Though David had fallen, the Lord lifted him up. He was now more fully in harmony with God and in sympathy with his fellow men than before he fell. In the joy of his release he sang: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.... Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:5-7).

Many have murmured at what they called God's injustice in sparing David, whose guilt was so great, after having rejected Saul for what appear to them to be far less flagrant sins. But David humbled himself and confessed his sin, while Saul despised reproof and hardened his heart in impenitence.

This passage in David's history is full of significance to the repenting sinner. It is one of the most forcible illustrations given us of the struggles and temptations of humanity, and of genuine repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Through all the ages it has proved a source of encouragement to souls that, having fallen into sin, were struggling under the burden of their guilt. Thousands of the children of God, who have been betrayed into sin, when ready to give up to despair have remembered how David's sincere repentance and confession were accepted by God, notwithstanding he suffered for his transgression; and they also have taken courage to repent and try again to walk in the way of God's commandments.

Whoever under the reproof of God will humble the soul with confession and repentance, as did David, may be sure that there is hope for him or her. Whoever will in faith accept God's promises will find pardon. The Lord will never cast away one truly repentant soul. He has given this promise: “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me” (Isaiah 27:5). “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).—Patriarchs and Prophets, 726.


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Saturday, December 30, 2017

Daily readings for 2017-12-31: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul Diaz,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 334 of 335

All Who Repent Will Be Forgiven and Accepted, December 31

Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1, NKJV.


		The Ellen G. White Estate 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904, USA Phone: +1 301 680 6540 Help: subscribe@ellenwhite.org

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Daily Devotional

December 30, 2017

God's Word and Love Will Open Hearts to Jesus

With my soul I have desired You in the night, yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; for when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Isaiah 26:9, NKJV.

It is the Savior's love that constrains the messenger to bear the message to the lost. Oh, how wonderful is the importuning of Christ with sinners! Although His love is beaten back by the refusal of hard, stubborn hearts, He returns to plead with greater force, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock." His love woos with winning force, until souls are compelled to come in.

Those who come to the supper turn to the blessed Jesus and say, "Thy gentleness hath made me great." He wins them by the word of His love and power; for the Word of God is the rod of His power. He says, "Is not my word like a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?"

When the Word of God is sent home to the human heart by the Holy Spirit, it is mighty to the pulling down of the strongholds of Satan. Finite men and women could do nothing in the great warfare, were it not for the Word of God. They could not plead successfully with human hearts that are as hard as steel, that are bolted and barred lest Jesus should find an entrance there; but the Lord endows men and women with His wisdom, and the weakest one may become as David by faith in God.

The Lord takes those who are devoted to Him, even though they may be uneducated, humble men and women, and sends them forth with His warning message. He stirs their hearts by His Spirit, He gives them spiritual muscle and sinew, and they are enabled to go forth with the Word of God, and to compel human beings to come in. Thus many poor, fainting souls, who are starving for the Bread of Life, are out of weakness made strong, and wax valiant in the fight, and put to flight the armies of the aliens.

"See that ye refuse not him that speaketh." Every time you turn away your ear and refuse to listen, every time you fail to open the door of your heart, you strengthen yourself in unbelief, and make yourself more and more unwilling to listen to the voice of Him that speaketh, and you diminish your chance of responding to the last appeal of mercy.... Let not Christ weep over you as He wept over Jerusalem, saying, "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." - The Review and Herald, September 24, 1895.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 348.

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Thought of the Day

December 30, 2017

God does not conceal His truth from men. By their own course of action they make it obscure to themselves. - COL 105

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Thought of the Day

December 30, 2017

There can be no reaping unless the human hand acts its part in the sowing of the seed. - COL 82

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Daily readings for 2017-12-30: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 333 of 335

Christ's Robe of Righteousness Is for the Repentant, December 30

Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. Jeremiah 26:13, NKJV.

Although as sinners we are under the condemnation of the law, yet Christ, by His obedience rendered to the law, claims for the repentant soul the merit of His own righteousness. In order to obtain the righteousness of Christ, it is necessary for the sinner to know what that repentance is which works a radical change of mind and spirit and action. The work of transformation must begin in the heart, and manifest its power through every faculty of the being; but human beings are not capable of originating such a repentance as this, and can experience it alone through Christ, who ascended up on high, led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto humanity.

Who is desirous of becoming truly repentant? What must they do? They must come to Jesus, just as they are, without delay. They must believe that the word of Christ is true, and, believing the promise, ask, that they may receive. When sincere desire prompts people to pray, they will not pray in vain. The Lord will fulfill His word, and will give the Holy Spirit to lead to repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. They will pray and watch, and put away their sins, making manifest their sincerity by the vigor of their endeavor to obey the commandments of God. With prayer they will mingle faith, and not only believe in but obey the precepts of the law. They will announce themselves as on Christ's side of the question. They will renounce all habits and associations that tend to draw the heart from God.

All sinners who would become children of God must receive the truth that repentance and forgiveness are to be obtained through nothing less than the atonement of Christ. Assured of this, they must put forth an effort in harmony with the work done for them, and with unwearied entreaty they must supplicate the throne of grace, that the renovating power of God may come into their souls.

Christ pardons none but the penitent, but whom He pardons He first makes penitent. The provision made is complete, and the eternal righteousness of Christ is placed to the account of every believing soul. The costly, spotless robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has been provided for the repenting, believing sinner, and everyone may say: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).—Selected Messages, book 1, 393, 394.


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Friday, December 29, 2017

Daily readings for 2017-12-30: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul Diaz,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 333 of 335

Christ's Robe of Righteousness Is for the Repentant, December 30

Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. Jeremiah 26:13, NKJV.


		The Ellen G. White Estate 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904, USA Phone: +1 301 680 6540 Help: subscribe@ellenwhite.org

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Daily Devotional

December 29, 2017

We Are to Grow in Piety, Purity, and Love

As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 1 Peter 2:2, 3, NKJV.

God has made every provision for the saving of every soul; but if we spurn the gift of everlasting life, purchased at infinite cost for us, the time will come when God will also spurn us from His presence, whether we are rich or poor, high or low, learned or unlearned. The principles of eternal justice will have full control in the great day of God's wrath.

We shall not hear a charge against us on the ground of the outbreaking sins we have committed, but the charge will be made against us for the neglect of good and noble duties enjoined upon us by the God of love. The deficiencies of our characters will be held up to view. It will then be known that all who are so condemned had light and knowledge, were entrusted with their Lord's goods, and were found unfaithful to their trust. It will be seen that they had no appreciation of the heavenly trust, that they did not use their capital in loving service to others, that they did not, by precept and example, cultivate faith and devotion in those with whom they associated. It will be according to the light they have had that they will be judged and punished.

God requires that every human agent shall improve all the means of grace heaven has provided, and become more and more efficient in the work of God. Every provision has been made that the piety, purity, and love of Christ's followers shall ever increase, that their talents may double, and their ability increase in the service of their divine Master.

But though this provision has been made, many who profess to believe in Jesus do not make it manifest by growth that testifies to the sanctifying power of the truth upon life and character. When we first receive Jesus into our hearts, we are as babes in religion; but we are not to remain babes in experience. We are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; we are to attain to the full measure of the stature of men and women in Him. We are to make advances, to gain new and rich experiences through faith, growing in trust and confidence and love, knowing God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. - ;Youth's Instructor, June 8, 1893.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 347.

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Thought of the Day

December 29, 2017

There can be no reaping unless the human hand acts its part in the sowing of the seed. - COL 82

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Thought of the Day

December 29, 2017

We are to give ourselves to Christ, to live a life of willing obedience to all His requirements. - COL 116

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Daily readings for 2017-12-29: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 332 of 335

God's Law Leads to True Repentance, December 29

Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings. Jeremiah 26:3, NKJV.

[The apostle Paul writes that] “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” ... The law which promised life to the obedient pronounced death upon the transgressor. “Wherefore,” he says, “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”

How wide the contrast between these words of Paul and those that come from many of the pulpits of today. The people are taught that obedience to God's law is not necessary to salvation; that they have only to believe in Jesus, and they are safe. Without the law, human beings have no conviction of sin, and feel no need of repentance. Not seeing their lost condition as violators of God's law, they do not feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ as their only hope of salvation.

The law of God is an agent in every genuine conversion. There can be no true repentance without conviction of sin. The Scriptures declare that “sin is the transgression of the law,” and that “by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

In order to see their guilt, sinners must test their character by God's great standard of righteousness. To discover their defects, they must look into the mirror of the divine statutes. But while the law reveals their sins, it provides no remedy. The gospel of Christ alone can offer pardon. In order to stand forgiven, sinners must exercise repentance toward God, whose law has been transgressed, and faith in Christ, their atoning sacrifice.

Without true repentance, there can be no true conversion. Many are deceived here, and too often their entire experience proves to be a deception. This is why so many who are joined to the church have never been joined to Christ.

“The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” In the new birth, the heart is renewed by divine grace, and brought into harmony with God as it is brought into subjection to His law. When this mighty change has taken place, the sinner has passed from death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. The old life of alienation from God has ended; the new life of reconciliation, of faith and love, has begun. Then will “the righteousness of the law” “be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”—The Spirit of Prophecy 4:297, 298.


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Thursday, December 28, 2017

Daily readings for 2017-12-29: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul Diaz,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 332 of 335

God's Law Leads to True Repentance, December 29

Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings. Jeremiah 26:3, NKJV.


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Daily Devotional

December 28, 2017

Be Courteous, Lifting Others' Burdens, as Did Jesus

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8, 9, NKJV.

Those who work for Christ are to be pure, upright, and trustworthy, and they are also to be tenderhearted, compassionate, and courteous. There is a charm in the dealings and conversation of those who are truly courteous. Kind words, pleasant looks, a courteous demeanor, are of inestimable value. Uncourteous Christians, by their neglect of others, show that they are not in union with Christ. It is impossible to be in union with Christ and yet be uncourteous.

What Christ was in His life on this earth, that every Christian should be. He is our example, not only in His spotless purity but in His patience, gentleness, and winsomeness of disposition. He was as firm as a rock where truth and duty were concerned, but He was invariably kind and courteous. His life was a perfect illustration of true courtesy. He had ever a kind look and a word of comfort for the needy and oppressed.

His presence brought a purer atmosphere into the home, and His life was as leaven working amid the elements of society. Harmless and undefiled, He walked among the thoughtless, the rude, the uncourteous; amid the unjust publicans, the unrighteous Samaritans, the heathen soldiers, the rough peasants, and the mixed multitude. He spoke a word of sympathy here, and a word there, as He saw people weary, and compelled to bear heavy burdens. He shared their burdens, and repeated to them the lessons He had learned from nature of the love, the kindness, the goodness of God.

He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as children of God....

The love of Christ mellows the heart and smooths all roughness from the disposition. Let us learn from Him how to combine a high sense of purity and integrity with sunniness of temperament. A kind, courteous Christian is the most powerful argument in favor of the gospel that can be produced. - The Review and Herald, August 20, 1959.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 346.

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Thought of the Day

December 28, 2017

We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. - 9T 11

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Thought of the Day

December 28, 2017

Our heavenly Father waits to bestow upon us the fullness of His blessing. - Pr 33

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Daily readings for 2017-12-28: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 331 of 335

Repentance Essential During Day of Atonement, December 28

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.” Revelation 12:10, NKJV.

God is leading His people out from the abominations of the world, that they may keep His law; and because of this, the rage of “the accuser of our brethren” knows no bounds. “The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”

The antitypical land of promise is just before us, and Satan is determined to destroy the people of God, and cut them off from their inheritance. The admonition “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation” was never more needed than now. We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people.

In like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin, and true repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching of heart. The light, frivolous spirit indulged by so many of professed Christians must be put away. There is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil tendencies that strive for the mastery.

The work of preparation is an individual work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion of one will not offset the want of these qualities in another. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth. Everyone must be tested, and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the atonement. Momentous are the interests involved therein. The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above.... Soon—none know how soon—it will pass to the cases of the living....When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Christ in the Revelation, looking forward to that time, declares: ... “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”—The Gospel Herald, August 1910.


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Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Daily readings for 2017-12-28: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul Diaz,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 331 of 335

Repentance Essential During Day of Atonement, December 28


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Daily Devotional

December 27, 2017

To Feed the Soul, Commune Constantly With Jesus

O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1, NKJV.

No human agent can supply that which will satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul. But Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).

As we need food to sustain our physical strength, so do we need Christ, the Bread from heaven, to sustain spiritual life and impart strength to work the works of God. As the body is continually receiving the nourishment that sustains life and vigor, so the soul must be constantly communing with Christ, submitting to Him and depending wholly upon Him.

As the weary traveler seeks the spring in the desert and, finding it, quenches his burning thirst, so will the Christian thirst for and obtain the pure water of life, of which Christ is the fountain.

As we discern the perfection of our Savior's character we shall desire to become wholly transformed and renewed in the image of His purity. The more we know of God, the higher will be our ideal of character and the more earnest our longing to reflect His likeness. A divine element combines with the human when the soul reaches out after God and the longing heart can say, "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him" (Psalm 62:5).

If you have a sense of need in your soul, if you hunger and thirst after righteousness, this is an evidence that Christ has wrought upon your heart, in order that He may be sought unto to do for you, through the endowment of the Holy Spirit, those things which it is impossible for you to do for yourself....

The words of God are the wellsprings of life. As you seek unto those living springs you will, through the Holy Spirit, be brought into communion with Christ. Familiar truths will present themselves to your mind in a new aspect, texts of Scripture will burst upon you with a new meaning as a flash of light, you will see the relation of other truths to the work of redemption, and you will know that Christ is leading you, a divine Teacher is at your side. - Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 18-20.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 345.

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Thought of the Day

December 27, 2017

Long have we waited for our Saviour's return. But nonetheless sure is the promise. Soon we shall be in our promised home. - Hvn 163

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Thought of the Day

December 27, 2017

It is our privilege to drink largely at the fountain of (our Heavenly Fathers) boundless love. - Pr 33

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Daily readings for 2017-12-27: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 330 of 335

Everyone to Work for the Lost, December 27

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16, NKJV.

“If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us”; and that love cannot be restrained.... Only by becoming partakers of the divine nature can the law of God be fulfilled by men and women. Only those who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and their neighbor as themselves, can give glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will to men. This was the work of Christ; and when His work is appreciated and represented by His followers, the great result will be achieved in the “joy that was set before him” in the saving of the souls for whom He gave His life.

The Lord has been laboring constantly from age to age to awaken in the souls of human beings a sense of their divine kinship, and thus to establish an order and divine harmony proportionate to the great and eternal deliverance He has wrought out for everyone who will receive Him. The Lord calls upon all who profess to believe in Him to be coworkers with Him, to use every God-given ability, opportunity, and privilege to lead perishing souls within the sphere of their influence to Jesus Christ.

Here is the only hope for transformation of character; this will give peace and joy in believing, and fit them for the society of the heavenly angels in the kingdom of God. Oh, how earnest, persevering, and untiring should be the efforts of every sin-pardoned soul to seek to bring other souls to Jesus Christ, that their neighbors shall become joint-heirs with Jesus!

Whoever is your neighbor is to be sought for, labored for. Are they ignorant? Let your communication, your association, make them more intelligent. The outcast, the youth, full of defects in character, are the very ones God enjoins upon us to help. “I came not to call the righteous,” said Christ, “but sinners to repentance.” ...

Those who will be humble enough to learn, the very nobility of the world will consider it an honor to go to heaven in their company, and angels of God will cooperate with such as are workers together with God. We need to hunger and thirst after righteousness, that we may have Christ in us as a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.—Special Instruction Relating to the Review and Herald Office and the Work in Battle Creek, 4-6.


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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Daily readings for 2017-12-27: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul Diaz,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 330 of 335

Everyone to Work for the Lost, December 27

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16, NKJV.


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Daily Devotional

December 26, 2017

We May Receive God's Unlimited Grace, to Do Good

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11, NKJV.

We are all under obligation to deny self daily for Christ's sake. Jesus says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me"; "whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."

As we call upon God at every step, pleading for divine wisdom as we advance, seeking for light and grace in order that under all and in every circumstance we shall do unto others as we would that they should do unto us were we in their place, we shall feel the necessity of fulfilling the broad and deep requirements of the holy law of God. Thus shall we lose sight of self, and looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, we shall lay upon the foundation deeds of mercy, benevolence, compassion, and love, which are compared to gold, silver, and precious stones, which the fires of the last days cannot consume.

The Lord Jesus is our efficiency in all things; His Spirit is to be our inspiration; and as we place ourselves in His hands to be channels of light, our means of doing good will never be exhausted; for the resources of the power of Jesus Christ are to be at our command. We may draw upon His fullness, and receive of that grace which has no limit. The Captain of our salvation at every step would teach us that almighty power is at the demand of living faith. He says, "Without me ye can do nothing"; but again declares that "greater works than these shall [ye] do; because I go unto my Father."

We are to pray without ceasing. In supplicating the throne of grace in the name of Christ, the promise is sure, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." When you make God your trust, when you call upon Him with your whole heart, He will be found of you. "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am." - The Review and Herald, October 30, 1894.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 344.

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Thought of the Day

December 26, 2017

At the feet of Jesus, the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, meet together, with no thought of caste or worldly preeminence. - GW 330

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Thought of the Day

December 26, 2017

It is the privilege and duty of every Christian to have a rich and abundant experience in the things of God. - RC 139

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Daily readings for 2017-12-26: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 329 of 335

God's People to Reflect His Glory, December 26

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. Isaiah 61:1, NKJV.

The Lord is not pleased to have His people a band of mourners. He wants them to repent of their sins, that they may enjoy the liberty of the children of God. Then they will be filled with the praises of God, and will be a blessing to others. The Lord Jesus was anointed also “to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.” ...

Oh, that this might be the purpose of our lives! Then we should have regard even to the expression of our countenance, to our words, and even to the tone of our voice when we speak. All our business transactions would be wrought in faith and integrity. Then would the world be convinced that there is a people that are loyal to the God of heaven....

God calls for all to come into harmony with Himself. He will receive them if they will put away their evil actions. By a union with the divine nature of Christ, they may escape the corrupting influences of this world. It is time for every one of us to decide whose side we are on. The agencies of Satan will work with every mind that will allow itself to be worked by him. But there are also heavenly agencies waiting to communicate the bright rays of the glory of God to all that are willing to receive Him. It is truth that we want, precious truth in all its loveliness. Truth will bring liberty and gladness.—The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, vol. 4, 1153, 1154.


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Monday, December 25, 2017

Daily readings for 2017-12-26: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul Diaz,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 329 of 335

God's People to Reflect His Glory, December 26


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Daily Devotional

December 25, 2017

Memorize the Scriptures, Preparing for the Future

You will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Mark 13:13, NRSV.

The servants of Christ were to prepare no set speech to present when brought to trial. Their preparation was to be made day by day in treasuring up the precious truths of God's Word, and through prayer strengthening their faith. When they were brought into trial, the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance the very truths that would be needed.

A daily, earnest striving to know God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, would bring power and efficiency to the soul. The knowledge obtained by diligent searching of the Scriptures would be flashed into the memory at the right time. But if any had neglected to acquaint themselves with the words of Christ, if they had never tested the power of His grace in trial, they could not expect that the Holy Spirit would bring His words to their remembrance. They were to serve God daily with undivided affection, and then trust Him.

So bitter would be the enmity to the gospel that even the tenderest earthly ties would be disregarded. The disciples of Christ would be betrayed to death by the members of their own households.... But He bade them not to expose themselves unnecessarily to persecution. He Himself often left one field of labor for another, in order to escape from those who were seeking His life. When He was rejected at Nazareth, and His own townsmen tried to kill Him, He went down to Capernaum, and there the people were astonished at His teaching, "for his word was with power" (Luke 4:32). So His servants were not to be discouraged by persecution, but to seek a place where they could still labor for the salvation of souls.

The servant is not above his master. The Prince of heaven was called Beelzebub, and His disciples will be misrepresented in like manner. But whatever the danger, Christ's followers must avow their principles. They should scorn concealment. They cannot remain uncommitted until assured of safety in confessing the truth. They are set as watchmen, to warn men and women of their peril. The truth received from Christ must be imparted to all, freely and openly. - The Desire of Ages, 355.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 343.

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Thought of the Day

December 25, 2017

No misfortune is so great as to become the worshiper of a false god. - TM 435

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Thought of the Day

December 25, 2017

Idleness and riches harden the heart that has never been troubled by poverty or burdened by sorrow. - BOE 69

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Daily readings for 2017-12-25: To Be Like Jesus

Hi Raul,

To Be Like Jesus — Day 328 of 335

Jesus Pays the Debt of Repentant Sinners, December 25

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4, NKJV.

Among the disciples who ministered to Paul at Rome was Onesimus, a fugitive slave from the city of Colosse. He belonged to a Christian named Philemon, a member of the Colossian church. But he had robbed his master and fled to Rome.... In the kindness of his heart, the apostle sought to relieve the poverty and distress of the wretched fugitive, and then endeavored to shed the light of truth into his darkened mind. Onesimus listened attentively to the words of life which he had once despised, and was converted to the faith of Christ. He now confessed his sin against his master, and gratefully accepted the counsel of the apostle.

He had endeared himself to Paul by his piety, meekness, and sincerity, no less than by his tender care for the apostle's comfort and his zeal to promote the work of the gospel. Paul saw in him traits of character that would render him a useful helper in missionary labor, and he would gladly have kept him at Rome. But he would not do this without the full consent of Philemon.

He therefore decided that Onesimus should at once return to his master.... It was a severe test for this servant to thus deliver himself up to the master he had wronged; but he had been truly converted, and, painful as it was, he did not shrink from this duty. Paul made Onesimus the bearer of a letter to Philemon, in which he with great delicacy and kindness pleaded the cause of the repentant slave, and intimated his own wishes concerning him....

He requests Philemon to receive him as his own child. He says that it was his desire to retain Onesimus, that he might act the same part in ministering to him in his bonds as Philemon would have done. But he did not desire his services unless Philemon should voluntarily set him free; for it might be in the providence of God that Onesimus had left his master for a season in so improper a manner, that, being converted, he might on his return be forgiven and received with such affection that he would choose to dwell with him ever after, “not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved.” ...

How fitting an illustration of the love of Christ toward repenting sinners! As the servant who had defrauded his master had nothing with which to make restitution, so sinners who have robbed God of years of service have no means of canceling their debt; Jesus interposes between them and the just wrath of God, and says, I will pay the debt. Let them be spared the punishment of their guilt. I will suffer in their stead.—Sketches from the Life of Paul, 284-287.


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