Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Lt 28, 1907

Olsen, O. A.

February 5, 1907 [typed]

Portions of this letter are published in 3SM 42; HP 248. +^Note

Elder O. A. Olsen
Sydney, Australia

Dear Brother:

I am so thankful that the Lord helps me to continue my work. My pen is in my hand most of my waking hours. 22LtMs, Lt 28, 1907, par. 1

Praise the Lord, O my soul; for He is awaking His people in all parts of the world. It is wonderful, wonderful! When the churches stand in their lot and place to do God’s bidding, the Lord will work wondrously on human minds. 22LtMs, Lt 28, 1907, par. 2

My mind and perceptions are still clear. That which the Lord presents to me in figure, He enables me to understand. I have a clear comprehension of what will be in the future. If as a people we make false moves now, it will be because of unbelief. Strange things are constantly taking place at Battle Creek. We must be on our guard; for we have a decided work to do. 22LtMs, Lt 28, 1907, par. 3

I believe the way is prepared for Dr. Kress to come to America and spend some time in the work here. We greatly need such a man as Dr. Kress at our sanitarium in Washington, and we hope that he can get here in time to be present at the opening of this institution. 22LtMs, Lt 28, 1907, par. 4

I trust, Brother Olsen, that Elder Starr and his wife will do strong evangelistic work in Sydney. That city, with its suburbs, should be faithfully worked. I believe that Brother and Sister Starr will be able to do good missionary work there. My prayer is that they and their associates may have the Holy Spirit with them to help them stand in their lot and place. O how I long to see the work accomplished that must be done for the enlightenment of the world. 22LtMs, Lt 28, 1907, par. 5

A life of true piety is a life of constant usefulness. The work must be accomplished through faith and prayer. This is the subject that stirs my soul to its depths. The life of prayer is the strength of true godliness. Our faith must be revealed to the world as a living, acting faith, bringing in its train all the Christian graces. The great and glorious work committed to us in acting a part in the plan of salvation is wonderfully high and exalted. We cannot weigh its merits. We are to walk by faith; and as we strive to appreciate the possibilities, and realize the immensity of the plan of salvation, it is our privilege to pray with the apostle Paul, that we may be able to “comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of God, which passeth knowledge.” [Ephesians 3:18, 19.] Lift Him up, the Man of Calvary. Let the mind dwell upon the beauties of His character, until by beholding, you become changed into the same image. A life of prayer and faith will lead us to speak of His praise and tell of His power. 22LtMs, Lt 28, 1907, par. 6

We must search the Word of God, making it a part of ourselves. A spirit of humility, the Spirit of Christ, will help us to know Him who has called us to glory and virtue. 22LtMs, Lt 28, 1907, par. 7

If we brought the truth into the daily life as we should, we would advance higher and still higher, gaining a clearer and still clearer understanding of the revelation of God. We would lift Him up in songs of praise. Through the psalmist Christ declared, “In the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.” [Psalm 22:22.] His voice was the keynote of the universe. His unconfined power, His unsearchable understanding, His wonderful sacrifice for the human race help us to comprehend the love of God. We need individually to have Christ abiding in the soul. We need to open our minds and hearts to the indwelling of the Spirit of truth. We need to appreciate our privileges as the possessors of sacred, elevating truth. Think of what this means to us—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ! 22LtMs, Lt 28, 1907, par. 8

Genuine conversion will unite our hearts in faith and love. It will teach us to hold fast our confidence in Him who is our only hope. By conversion we join our weakness to God’s strength, our ignorance to His wisdom, our unworthiness to His merits, our poverty to His boundless riches, our helplessness to His enduring might. We must have an ever-increasing strength, a growing faith. We must be strong in hope, and this we will be when we have the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. I pray that we may all be growing Christians. 22LtMs, Lt 28, 1907, par. 9