With Love “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” 1 Cor. 13:4 Those who open their hearts and homes to invite Jesus to abide with them should keep the moral atmosphere unclouded by strife, bitterness, wrath, malice, or even an unkind word. Jesus will not abide in a home where are contention, envy, and bitterness. . . . Paul had a healthful religious experience. The love of Christ was his grand theme and the constraining power that governed him. When in most discouraging circumstances, which would have had a depressing influence upon halfway Christians, he is firm of heart, full of courage and hope and cheer, exclaiming, “Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoice.” The same hope and cheerfulness is seen when he is upon the deck of the ship, the tempest beating about him, the ship going to pieces. He gives orders to the commander of the ship and preserves the lives of all on board. Although a prisoner, he is really the master of the ship, the freest and happiest man on board. When wrecked and driven to a barbarous island, he is the most self-possessed, the most helpful in saving his fellow men from a watery grave. His hands brought the wood to kindle the fire for the benefit of the chilled, shipwrecked passengers. When they saw the deadly viper fasten upon his hand, they were filled with terror; but Paul calmly shook it into the fire, knowing it could not harm him; for he implicitly trusted in God. When before kings and dignitaries of the earth, who held his life in their hands, he quailed not; for he had given his life to God. . . . Grace, like an angel of mercy, makes his voice heard sweet and clear, repeating the story of the cross, the matchless love of Jesus. Love’s agencies have wonderful power, for they are divine. From My Life Today – Page 339 by Ellen G....

1.”Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. 2. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us. 3. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 4. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.” Psalm 123 King James Version...

God Gives the Increase “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” ( Psalm 126:6.) “If our neighbors were perishing for bread, we would be thought very uncharitable if we did not supply their wants. There are those among us who have never had the Word of God brought to their minds or understanding; they are perishing for want of the Bread of Life, and is it not in us an expression of great selfishness when we keep these sacred truths to ourselves…? Our heavenly Father gives the rain, the dew, and the sunshine from heaven to refresh the flowers and to cause vegetation to spring up and flourish. But man has a part to act, to prepare the soil and to put the seeds into the ground in order to have a harvest. If he had folded his arms and said, “I will let things take their course…. God will give the harvest. He will give the sunshine and the rain from heaven, and I will take my ease,” what kind of harvest would come? Man must cooperate with God and act his part in preparing the soil and in sowing the seed, and God will give the increase. Our heavenly Father has not sent angels from heaven to preach salvation to men. He has opened to us the precious truths of His Word and implanted the truth in our hearts that we May give it to those who are in darkness. If we have indeed tasted of the precious gifts of God in His promises, we are to impart this knowledge to others…. We are individually to work as though a great responsibility rested upon us. We are to manifest untiring energy and tact and zeal in this work and take the burden, feeling the peril in which our neighbors and friends are placed. We are to work as Christ worked. We are to present the truth as it is in Jesus, that the blood of souls shall not be upon our garments. At the same time we are to feel entire dependence and trust in God, for we know we cannot do anything without His grace and power to help. A Paul May plant, and an Apollos water, but God alone can give the increase. Then we are indeed to go forward to the work, weeping, sowing the precious seeds of truth and trusting in God to give the increase.” From In Heavenly Places, by Ellen G. White. For free access to books and writings from Ellen G. White, visit...

With Love Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. 1 Cor. 13:4 Those who open their hearts and homes to invite Jesus to abide with them should keep the moral atmosphere unclouded by strife, bitterness, wrath, malice, or even an unkind word. Jesus will not abide in a home where are contention, envy, and bitterness. . . . Paul had a healthful religious experience. The love of Christ was his grand theme and the constraining power that governed him. When in most discouraging circumstances, which would have had a depressing influence upon halfway Christians, he is firm of heart, full of courage and hope and cheer, exclaiming, “Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoice.” The same hope and cheerfulness is seen when he is upon the deck of the ship, the tempest beating about him, the ship going to pieces. He gives orders to the commander of the ship and preserves the lives of all on board. Although a prisoner, he is really the master of the ship, the freest and happiest man on board. When wrecked and driven to a barbarous island, he is the most self-possessed, the most helpful in saving his fellow men from a watery grave. His hands brought the wood to kindle the fire for the benefit of the chilled, shipwrecked passengers. When they saw the deadly viper fasten upon his hand, they were filled with terror; but Paul calmly shook it into the fire, knowing it could not harm him; for he implicitly trusted in God. When before kings and dignitaries of the earth, who held his life in their hands, he quailed not; for he had given his life to God. . . . Grace, like an angel of mercy, makes his voice heard sweet and clear, repeating the story of the cross, the matchless love of Jesus. Love’s agencies have wonderful power, for they are divine. From My Life Today – Page 339 by Ellen G....

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 KJV )

    “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.” [Psalm. 43:3]       “In these days of peril we should be exceedingly careful not to reject the rays of light which Heaven in mercy sends us, for it is by these that we are to discern the devices of the enemy. We need light from Heaven every hour, that we may distinguish between the sacred and the common, the eternal and the temporal. If left to ourselves, we shall blunder at every step; we shall incline to the world, we shall shun self-denial, and see no necessity for constant watchfulness and prayer, and we shall be taken captive by Satan at his will. Some are today in this position. Having refused the light which God has sent them, they know not at what they stumble.   All whose names shall at last be found written in the Lamb’s book of life will fight manfully the battles of the Lord. They will labor most earnestly to discern and put away temptations and every evil thing. They will feel that the eye of God is upon them and that the strictest fidelity is required. As faithful sentinels they will keep the passage barred, that Satan may not pass them disguised as an angel of light to work his work of death in their midst. . . . The white-robed ones who surround the throne of God are not composed of that company who were lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, and who choose to drift with the current rather than to breast the waves of opposition. All who remain pure and uncorrupted from the spirit and influence prevailing at this time will have stern conflicts. They will come through great tribulation; they will wash their robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. These will sing the song of triumph in the kingdom of glory.” From My Life Today – Page 326 by Ellen G....