If the time seems long to wait for our Deliverer to come; if, bowed by affliction and worn with toil, we feel impatient for our commission to close, and to receive an honorable release from the warfare, let us remember—and let the remembrance check every murmur—that God leaves us on earth to encounter storms and conflicts, to perfect Christian character, to become better acquainted with God our Father and Christ our Elder Brother, and to do work for the Master in winning many souls to Christ, that with glad heart we may hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”—The Review and Herald, October 25, 1881.  Be patient, Christian soldier. Yet a little while, and He that shall come, will come. The night of weary waiting, and watching, and mourning is nearly over. The reward will soon be given; the eternal day will dawn. There is no time to sleep now,—no time to indulge in useless regrets. He who ventures to slumber now will miss pre...

  Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.... Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:30-32 , NKJV. The life of Christ was an ever-widening, shoreless influence, an influence that bound Him to God and to the whole human family. Through Christ, God has invested men and women with an influence that makes it impossible for them to live for themselves. Individually we are connected with other human beings, a part of God's great whole, and we stand under mutual obligations. No one can be independent of their fellow beings; for the well-being of each affects others. It is God's purpose that each person shall feel necessary to others’ welfare, and seek to promote their happiness. Every soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own—an atmosphere, it may be, charged with the life-giving power of faith, courage, and hope, and sweet with the fragrance of love. Or it may ...

  Apt Pupils in the School of Christ By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.  Hebrews 11:27 . For the honor of God and the deliverance of His downtrodden people, Moses sacrificed the honors of Egypt. Then, in a special sense, God undertook his training.... He had yet to learn the lesson of dependence upon divine power. He had mistaken God's purpose. It was his hope to deliver Israel by force of arms. For this he risked all, and failed. In defeat and disappointment he became a fugitive and exile in a strange land.... Apparently cut off forever from his life's mission, he was receiving the discipline essential for its fulfilment.... He must obtain the experience that would make him a faithful, long-suffering shepherd to Israel.... In the stern simplicity of the wilderness ... Moses gained that which went with him throughout the years of his toilsome and care-burdened life,—a sense of the personal presence of t...

 Eternal Life—By earnest, thoughtful efforts to help where help is needed, the true Christian shows his love for God and for his fellow beings. He may lose his life in service; but when Christ comes to gather His jewels to Himself, he will find it again.—Testimonies for the Church 9:56.  A Gracious Welcome Home—Stand on the threshold of eternity, and hear the gracious welcome given to those who in this life have co-operated with Christ, regarding it as a privilege and an honor to suffer for His sake.... There the redeemed ones greet those who directed them to the uplifted Saviour. They unite in praising Him who died that human beings might have the life that measures with the life of God. The conflict is over. All tribulation and strife are at an end. Songs of victory fill all heaven, as the redeemed stand around the throne of God. All take up the joyful strain, “Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain,” and hath redeemed us to God.—The Ministry of Healing, 506, 507.  I...

  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.  Ephesians 4:29 , NKJV. As followers of Christ we should make our words such as to be a help and an encouragement to one another in the Christian life. Far more than we do, we need to speak of the precious chapters in our experience. We should speak of the mercy and loving-kindness of God, of the matchless depths of the Savior's love. Our words should be words of praise and thanksgiving. If the mind and heart are full of the love of God, this will be revealed in the conversation. It will not be a difficult matter to impart that which enters into our spiritual life. Great thoughts, noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth, unselfish purposes, yearnings for piety and holiness, will bear fruit in words that reveal the character of the heart treasure. When Christ is thus revealed in our speech, it will have power in winning souls to Hi...

 Apt Pupils in the School of Christ So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. 1 Kings 19:19.  The prophet Elijah was about to close his earthly labors. Another was to be called to carry forward the work for that time. In his course of travel, Elijah was directed northward.... Wherever Elijah looked, the land he saw was owned by one man,—a man who had not bowed the knee to Baal, whose heart had remained undivided in the service of God.... The owner of the land was Shaphat....  The attention of Elijah was attracted to Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who with the servants was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen. He was educator, director, and worker. Elisha did not live in the thickly populated cities. His father was a tiller of the soil, a farmer. Far from city and court dissipation, Elisha had received his education. He had been t...

Saat kulihat semua kesedihan, Semua kesulitan, kesakitan, kepedihan Yang terjadi di sekitarku setiap saat aku berkata dalam hati Betapa menyakitkan akibat dosa. Tak hanya manusia yang menderita karena dosa. Seluruh isi bumi ini menderita akibat dosa yang dilakukan manusia. Binatang yang lucu harus menderita penyakit dan mati seperti manusia yang di takdirkan mati setelah jatuh ke dalam dosa. Bunga yang indah akan layu seiring waktu dan mati yang membuat hati merasa sedih. Mungkinkah semuanya ini akan segera berakhir? Akankah Dia yang menjanjikan dunia yang abadi akan segera mewujudkannya? Kapan Semua Ini akan berakhir? Kapankah waktunya tiba? Segera! Aku percaya waktunya akan segera tiba. Dunia yang berdosa ini akan segera berakhir. Waktunya sangat singkat, bersedialah umat Tuhan, bersedialah menyambutNya. When I see all the sadness, All the difficulties, pain, sorrow What's happening around me every time I say to myself How painful consequences of sin. It is not only hum...

  Happiness —Those who give their lives to Christlike ministry know the meaning of true happiness. Their interests and their prayers reach far beyond self. They themselves are growing as they try to help others. They become familiar with the largest plans, the most stirring enterprises, and how can they but grow when they place themselves in the divine channel of light and blessing? Such ones receive wisdom from heaven. They become more and more identified with Christ in all His plans. There is no opportunity for spiritual stagnation.— Testimonies for the Church 9:42 . The church that engages successfully in this work, is a happy church. That man or that woman whose soul is drawn out in compassion and love for the erring, and who labors to bring them to the fold of the great Shepherd, is engaged in a blessed work. And, oh, what a soul-enrapturing thought, that when one sinner is thus reclaimed, there is more joy in heaven than over ninety and nine just persons!— Testimonies for the...

Meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.  Colossians 4:3, 4 , NKJV.   BLJ 94.1 God has not given talents capriciously. He who knows all things, who is acquainted with each one, has given to every person his or her work. Those to whom He has entrusted much are not to boast, for what they possess is not their own; it is lent them on trial; and the greater the endowment, the greater the returns required. Day by day God is testing men and women, to see whether they will acknowledge Him as the giver of all that they have. He watches to see whether they will prove themselves worthy of eternal riches. The use they make of their precious endowments decides their destiny for eternity.  BLJ 94.2 Of all the gifts that God has bestowed upon His children, none is capable of being a greater blessing than the gift of speech. With the tongu...

  Apt Pupils in the School of Christ When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. John 11:4.  Christ's two days’ delay after hearing that Lazarus was sick was not a neglect or a denial on His part.... This should be an encouragement to us.... We are to rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. The answer to our prayers may not come as quickly as we desire, and it may not be just what we have asked; but He who knows what is for the highest good of His children will bestow a much greater good than we have asked, if we do not become faithless and discouraged. The Youth's Instructor, April 6, 1899.  Christ had not only the loved ones at Bethany to think of; He had the training of His disciples to consider. They were to be His representatives to the world, that the Father's blessing might include all. For their sake He permitted Lazarus to die. Had He restored him from illness to ...

 The Lord is good. He is merciful and tender-hearted. He is acquainted with every one of His children. He knows just what each one of us is doing. He knows just how much credit to give to each one. Will you not lay down your credit list and your condemnation list, and leave God to do His own work? You will be given the crown of glory if you will attend to the work that God has given you.—The Southern Watchman, May 14, 1903 (The General Conference Bulletin, April 14, 1903).  The Lord desires us to rest in Him without a question as to our measure of reward. When Christ abides in the soul, the thought of reward is not uppermost. This is not the motive that actuates our service.—Christ's Object Lessons, 398.  From garrets, from hovels, from dungeons, from scaffolds, from mountains and deserts, from the caves of the earth and the caverns of the sea, Christ will gather His children to Himself. On earth they have been destitute, afflicted, and tormented. Millions have gone down ...

  The Lord G od has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary.  Isaiah 50:4 , NKJV. All around us are afflicted souls. Here and there, everywhere, we may find them. Let us search out these suffering ones and speak a word in season to comfort their hearts. Let us ever be channels through which shall flow the refreshing waters of compassion. In all our associations it should be remembered that in the experience of others there are chapters sealed from mortal sight. On the pages of memory are sad histories that are sacredly guarded from curious eyes. There stand registered long, hard battles with trying circumstances, perhaps troubles in the home life, that day by day weaken courage, confidence, and faith. Those who are fighting the battle of life at great odds may be strengthened and encouraged by little attentions that cost only a loving effort. To such the strong, helpful grasp of the hand by a true friend is worth...