“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” 2 Peter 1:10. He who beholds Jesus, realizing what He is to us and what we are to Him, will be diligent. He will live on the plan of addition, adding to his faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. This is a process of growth. He who cooperates with Christ will not be found tomorrow where he is today. Every day he will follow on to know the Lord, that he may know that His going forth is prepared as the morning. Of those who live in this way it will be written at last, “Ye are complete in him.” We are to work not merely for our own souls, but for the souls of all with whom we are connected. Parents are to keep before them the point to which they should work—the perfection of the characters of their children. They are to strive earnestly to perfect the characters of their children, because the future immortal life will show the result of the work they have done. Those parents who educate their children aright, weeding out every unruly trait, are fitting them to become missionaries for Christ in truth, in righteousness, in holiness. He who in his childhood does service for God, adding to his faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity, is fitting himself to hear the words, “Child, come up higher. Enter the higher school.” Do you think we shall not learn anything there? We have not the slightest idea of what will then be opened before us. With Christ we shall walk before the living waters. He will open before us the beauty and glory of nature. He will show us what He is to us and what we are to Him. There are lessons we do not know now that we shall know hereafter…. It means everything to us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. God works in us, to will and to do of His good pleasure. If we let Him work, He will work. Our reward in heaven above depends on our daily walk and conversation here below. We can be Christians here. And to be a Christian, it is not necessary that we live in depression, mourning because we cannot have our own way. If we are Christians indeed, Christ is...

In Humility “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” (KJV) ( 1 Peter 5:5 ) As much as we think we know it all, there is always more to learn. But we can only learn as much as we want to learn. We could be surrounded by the smartest people in the world, but if our mind and heart aren’t open to growing and maturing, then we can’t improve. Having a teachable heart allows us to serve others and give respect to those who have gone before us. When someone older and wiser extends advice and suggestions to you, how do you respond? If you find yourself stiffening at advice, take a moment to encourage growing a teachable heart in you....

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8, NKJV. God desires us to reach the standard of perfection made possible for us by the gift of Christ. He calls upon us to make our choice on the right side, to connect with heavenly agencies, to adopt principles that will restore in us the divine image. In His written Word and in the great book of nature He has revealed the principles of life. It is our work to obtain a knowledge of these principles, and by obedience to cooperate with Him in restoring health to the body as well as to the soul. – {BLJ 48.2} Human beings need to learn that the blessings of obedience, in their fullness, can be theirs only as they receive the grace of Christ. It is His grace that gives men and women power to obey the laws of God. It is this that enables them to break the bondage of evil habit. This is the only power that can make them and keep them steadfast in the right path…. – {BLJ 48.3} BLJ- Be Like Jesus: Ellen G....

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? (KJV) ( Psalm 42:2 ) Are you thirsting for God right now? Thirsting for water is a slow, small feeling that takes root in your tongue that grows until you cannot stand it anymore. In thirsting for God, your days are not quite right and you are wandering aimlessly until you just cannot go further without connecting with God. Quench your thirst and spend some time with God. Read His Words, listen to Him in prayer, or just be still. He is there waiting for you....

God made man perfectly holy and happy; and the fair earth, as it came from the Creator’s hand, bore no blight of decay or shadow of the curse. It is transgression of God’s law—the law of love—that has brought woe and death. Yet even amid the suffering that results from sin, God’s love is revealed. It is written that God cursed the ground for man’s sake. Genesis 3:17. The thorn and the thistle—the difficulties and trials that make his life one of toil and care—were appointed for his good as a part of the training needful in God’s plan for his uplifting from the ruin and degradation that sin has wrought. The world, though fallen, is not all sorrow and misery. In nature itself are messages of hope and comfort. There are flowers upon the thistles, and the thorns are covered with roses. “God is love” is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green—all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy. [From Steps to Christ, Page 9, 10 by Ellen G. White. Read more books at E.G.White Writings] “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;” Genesis 3:17  King James Version...

“Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” (Ephesians 1:2-7...