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This Day With God

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In the World, But Not of It, August 27

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:4. TDG 248.1

The great day of the Lord is near at hand. When Christ appears in the clouds of heaven, those who have not sought Him with all the heart, those who have allowed themselves to be deceived, will surely perish. Our only safety is to be found through repentance and conversion, and the blotting out of sins. Those who will now seek the Lord earnestly, humbling their hearts before Him, and forsaking their sins, will, through the sanctification of the truth, be fitted to unite with the members of the royal family, and will see the King in His beauty.... TDG 248.2

Whatever his educational attainments, only he who realizes his accountability to God, and who is led by the Holy Spirit, can be an effectual teacher, or be successful in winning to God those who are brought under his influence. Shall those who do not heed the divine counsel be acknowledged as leaders in the Lord's institutions?—God forbid. How can we regard as safe guides those who manifest a spirit of unbelief, and who, in words and character, fail of revealing true godliness? TDG 248.3

“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children [in learning the way of the Lord], ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). TDG 248.4

Self needs to be brought into submission to the yoke of Christ. The great Teacher invites all to learn of Him.... “The Son of man is come to save that which was lost” (verse 11). But those who desire to be saved must be willing to be saved in the Lord's appointed way, and not in a way of their own choosing. The free grace of God is man's only hope. God is in earnest with every one of us.... TDG 248.5

We are called to be the Lord's special people in a much higher sense than many have realized. The world lies in wickedness, and God's people are to come out of the world, and be separate. They are to be free from worldly customs and worldly habits. They are not to accord with worldly sentiments, but are to stand out distinct, as the Lord's peculiar people, earnest in all their service. They are to have no fellowship with the works of darkness.—Letter 280, August 27, 1906, to “My Brethren and Sisters in Denver and Boulder.” TDG 248.6