Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)
Ms 21, 1911
Fragments
NP
October 9, 1911 [typed]
Portions of this manuscript are published in HP 58.
Fathers and mothers, if you cannot be happy where you are, with your children, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, do not bring your burden of defection to a place where one of the Lord’s institutions is to be established and where tried, faithful Christians will be needed. Wise men are needed in such a place—men who have learned the lesson that Christ teaches, men who realize the importance of the obligations resting on them to keep the spirit sweet and pure and holy, that in life and character they may represent Christ. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 1
*****
The father who has become thoroughly acquainted with the Word of the Lord and who renders willing obedience to God’s law is prepared to be the priest and house-band of his family. As he strives for perfect self-control, he is enabled to reveal in his life the grace of patience. He deals justly and keeps his spirit free from anger. But the father who has not learned to restrain his childish outburst of temper is not prepared to discipline and train his children. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 2
*****
I wish our people to understand that the good hand of the Lord is upon me in the early morning hours. I continue my work all day. I do not write my articles by dictation; everything that the Lord gives me to communicate to my brethren is written with my own hand. I write these particulars that all may understand how my work is done. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 3
“The will of God establishes the connection between cause and its effects. Fearful consequences are attached to the least violation of God’s law. All will seek to avoid the result, but will not labor to avoid the cause which produced the result. The cause is wrong, the effect right, the knowledge of which is to restrain the transgressor.” 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 4
*****
All profit, all pay, our time, our talents, our opportunities—all are to be accounted for to Him who gives them all. He will have the richest reward who loves God supremely and his neighbor as himself. The Lord would not have the first thread of selfishness woven into the fabric of His work. He proves us to see if our works are free from all selfishness and pride. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 5
*****
God is love. His nature is revealed in His holy law. Let us rejoice that the High and Holy One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose ways are from everlasting to everlasting, changes not. With Him there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 6
*****
The experience of Cornelius is recorded to show us that the Lord blesses the offerings and the prayers made by the church in the home. The success and spread of gospel work means larger necessities and demands larger offerings from the people of God. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 7
*****
God permitted in Old Testament times and New Testament times the condition of things that led to the driving out of His people that the light might shine in new places. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 8
*****
Instead of standing fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and gathering up the precious wheat, many have been gathering tares. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 9
*****
Many gather to themselves responsibilities that the Lord, the merciful Father, does not place upon them. Duties that He never ordained them to perform chase one another wildly. The Lord never compels hurried, complicated movements. Never are His servants to leave one duty marred or incomplete in order to seize hold of another. He who labors in the calmness of the fear of God does not work in a haphazard manner for fear that something will hinder his plans if he does not rush them through. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 10
*****
Christians are Christ’s jewels, bought with an infinite price. They are to shine brightly for Him, shedding forth the light of His loveliness. And ever they are to remember that all the luster that Christian character possesses is received from the Sun of righteousness. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 11
The luster of Christ’s jewels depends on the polishing that they receive. We are left free to choose to be polished or to remain unpolished. But every one who is pronounced worthy of a place in the Lord’s temple must submit to the polishing process. He must consent to have the sharp edges cut away from his character, that it may be shapely and beautiful, fitted to represent the perfection of Christ’s character. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 12
*****
I want you to think of the commission given to the disciples by Christ just before His ascension. “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth,” He said. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” [Matthew 28:18-20.] I see distinctly that our ministering brethren need to reach a high standard. They are not to listen to the evil things said of their brethren in any place until they first talk with those spoken against to learn whether the reports are just or most cruelly unjust. But there are those who do not follow this course. They believe the disparaging things said of their fellow workers and tell them from place to place all over the field. Thus impressions that are false in every respect are left on minds. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 13
*****
In the life of man things sacred and secular are to be done, some in business lines, some in the ministry of the Word, and some in various trades; but when a man gives himself to Christ and loves God with the whole heart, mind, and soul, and strength, he serves with a devotion that takes the whole being to perform the work. He recognizes the ownership of his powers and the ownership of himself. This consecration invests his whole life with a sacredness which makes him gentle, kind, and courteous. His every act is a consecrated act. “Holiness unto the Lord,” is his motto. He is under Christ, being trained for the higher grade above. 25LtMs, Ms 21, 1911, par. 14