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Bible Study Guides – Justification by Faith – Born of God

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November 25, 2018 – December 1, 2018

Key Text

“We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (1 John 5:18).

Study Help: The Desire of Ages, 167–177.

Introduction

“Those who know not what it is to have an experience in the things of God, who know not what it is to be justified by faith, who have not the witness of the Spirit that they are accepted of Jesus Christ, are in need of being born again.” Lift Him Up, 124.

Sunday

THE INVITATION

  • What invitation does Jesus give to all? Matthew 11:28–30.

Note: “It is a mistake to think that you must come to repentance before you can come to Jesus. Come to Christ just as you are, and contemplate His love until your hard heart is broken.” The Review and Herald, September 3, 1901.

  • What was Nicodemus impressed to do and why? John 3:1, 2

Note: “Nicodemus had heard the preaching of John the Baptist concerning repentance and baptism, and pointing the people to One who should baptize with the Holy Spirit. He himself had felt that there was a lack of spirituality among the Jews, that, to a great degree, they were controlled by bigotry and worldly ambition. He had hoped for a better state of things at the Messiah’s coming. Yet the heart-searching message of the Baptist had failed to work in him conviction of sin. He was a strict Pharisee, and prided himself on his good works. He was widely esteemed for his benevolence and his liberality in sustaining the temple service, and he felt secure of the favor of God.” The Desire of Ages, 171.

Monday

YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN

  • According to Jesus, what must a person do before they can see the kingdom of heaven and why? John 3:3.

Note: “He [Nicodemus] was startled at the thought of a kingdom too pure for him to see in his present state.” The Desire of Ages, 171.

“No man can of himself understand his errors. ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?’ (Jeremiah 17:9). The lips may express a poverty of soul that the heart does not acknowledge. While speaking to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be swelling with the conceit of its own superior humility and exalted righteousness. In one way only can a true knowledge of self be obtained. We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness. When we contemplate His purity and excellence, we shall see our own weakness and poverty and defects as they really are. We shall see ourselves lost and hopeless, clad in garments of self-righteousness, like every other sinner. We shall see that if we are ever saved, it will not be through our own goodness, but through God’s infinite grace.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 159.

  • How did Jesus explain this truth further to Nicodemus, and what did He mean by it? John 3:4–6.

Note: “Jesus continued: ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). By nature the heart is evil, and ‘who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one’ (Job 14:4). No human invention can find a remedy for the sinning soul. ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.’ ‘Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies’ (Romans 8:7; Matthew 15:19). The fountain of the heart must be purified before the streams can become pure. He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit.” The Desire of Ages, 172.

Tuesday

TURNING AROUND

  • What is promised to those who accept the gospel? Galatians 3:14.
  • Why is it impossible of ourselves to turn from a sinful life? Romans 8:7.

Note: “It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. ‘Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.’ ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be’ (Job 14:4; Romans 8:7). Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.

“The Saviour said, ‘Except a man be born from above,’ unless he shall receive a new heart, new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new life, ‘he cannot see the kingdom of God’ (John 3:3, margin).” Steps to Christ, 18.

  • While we cannot of ourselves change our sinful heart, what can we do? Joshua 24:15.

Note: “What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.” Steps to Christ, 47. [Emphasis author’s.]

Wednesday

HOW CAN THESE THINGS BE?

  • Who creates in us a new heart? John 3:7, 8.

Note: “The wind is heard among the branches of the trees, rustling the leaves and flowers; yet it is invisible, and no man knows whence it comes or whither it goes. So with the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. It can no more be explained than can the movements of the wind. A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God—a patient, protracted process.” The Desire of Ages, 172.

“The sinner may resist this love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist he will be drawn to Jesus; a knowledge of the plan of salvation will lead him to the foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, which have caused the sufferings of God’s dear Son.” Steps to Christ, 27.

  • To be created or “born again” is to receive a new heart—new desires, purposes, and motives. What must we feed upon to be born again? 1 Peter 1:23; 2:2.

Note: “When truth becomes an abiding principle in the life, the soul is ‘born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever’ (1 Peter 1:23). This new birth is the result of receiving Christ as the word of God. When by the Holy Spirit divine truths are impressed upon the heart, new conceptions are awakened, and the energies hitherto dormant are aroused to co-operate with God.” The Acts of the Apostles, 520.

  • What knowledge does God use to transform the mind of the believer? 2 Corinthians 4:6.

Thursday

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD

  • What must we realize for ourselves about Jesus in order to be changed? John 3:14, 15; 1:29.

Note: “Christ must be revealed to the sinner as the Saviour dying for the sins of the world; and as we behold the Lamb of God upon the cross of Calvary, the mystery of redemption begins to unfold to our minds and the goodness of God leads us to repentance. In dying for sinners, Christ manifested a love that is incomprehensible; and as the sinner beholds this love, it softens the heart, impresses the mind, and inspires contrition in the soul.” Steps to Christ, 26, 27.

  • When we surrender ourselves to Christ, what will take place? Ezekiel 36:26, 27.

Note: “As the sinner, drawn by the power of Christ, approaches the uplifted cross and prostrates himself before it, there is a new creation. A new heart is given him. He becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. Holiness finds that it has nothing more to require. God Himself is ‘the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus’ (Romans 3:26). And ‘whom He justified, them He also glorified’ (Romans 8:30).” Christ’s Object Lessons, 163.

  • When we are born again, in what alone will we glory? Galatians 6:14.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     What essential experience will Christ give all who come to Him?

2    What must you realize about yourself if you are to be born again?

3    Why do we find it so hard to do the right thing?

4    What must you feed upon if you are to experience the new birth?

5    What does God promise to do when we surrender all to Christ?

Recipe – Brussels Sprouts with Onions and Garlic

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Ingredients

½ lb. Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, halved (or quartered)

1 yellow onion, diced or cut into strips

3 cloves garlic or more, minced

 

Process

Place the onions and garlic in the bottom of a pan, and top with the Brussels sprouts.

Cook uncovered on medium heat until the onions begin to sizzle and steam.

Cover the pot; turn the stove down to very low and let cook for about 45-60 minutes.

 

Food – Brussels Sprouts – My Mini-Cabs

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Even though these vegetables are called sprouts, actually they are a member of the cabbage family. I just call them mini-cabs because they look like little cabbages. These were first cultivated in Belgium and that is why they are called Brussels sprouts because Brussels is the capital of Belgium. AND when you read the following, you will want to always include these little mini-cabs into your diet also!

“Brussels sprouts contain a chemical called sinigrin, which suppresses the development of precancerous cells. It works by persuading the precancerous cells to commit suicide—a natural process called apoptosis—and so powerful is the effect that it’s entirely possible that the occasional meal of Brussels sprouts could help reduce the incidence of colon cancer.

“Brussels sprouts are high in isothiocyanates and sulforaphane, which are compounds known to help fight cancer by inhibiting cell proliferation, neutralizing carcinogens, and helping to detoxify nasty environmental toxins. Sulforaphane, a particularly potent member of the isothiocyanate family, increases the production of certain enzymes known as ‘phase-2 enzymes,’ which can ‘disarm’ damaging free radicals and help fight carcinogens. It’s believed that phase-2 enzymes may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. According to research from the Department of Urology at Stanford University published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, sulforaphane is the most potent inducer of phase-2 enzymes of any phyto-2 chemical known to date. And in a review article from the 11th Annual Research Conference on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer from the American Institute of Cancer Research, the authors stated that ‘isothiocyanates are well-known protectors against carcinogenesis.’ ” The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., 27.

 

 

Brussels Sprouts with Onions and Garlic

Ingredients

½ lb. Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, halved (or quartered)

1 yellow onion, diced or cut into strips

3 cloves garlic or more, minced

Process

Place the onions and garlic in the bottom of a pan, and top with the Brussels sprouts.

Cook uncovered on medium heat until the onions begin to sizzle and steam.

Cover the pot; turn the stove down to very low and let cook for about 45-60 minutes.

 

 

Life Sketches – The Unknown God

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Some people believe that everything has its origin in blind chance. Others believe that there exists an over-ruling providence, a living center of all government. Why it is that many intelligent people believe unproven theories?

While preaching the gospel on his missionary journey from Thessalonica to Berea, Paul found that the people in Berea were Bible students. He said, “These [people] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). When people honestly desire to know what is right, they will check what they have been taught by the Scriptures and it will produce a result similar to that found in Berea. However, too many people today are just the opposite of the Bereans. They may not be able to controvert the doctrine that has been presented to them from the Bible, yet manifest the utmost reluctance to even investigate the evidence that has been presented in its favor.

Often the assumption is that even if it is the truth, it is really a matter of little consequence whether it is accepted as such, believing that if the faith and customs that they have was good enough for their fathers to follow, it is good enough for them. So why change? But the Lord has sent out His ambassadors with a message to the world, and will hold the people responsible for the manner in which they treat the words of His servants. God will judge us according to the light that we have had the opportunity to receive. It is our duty to investigate, like the Bereans, to see whether it is true or not.

Jesus said, “That servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:47, 48).

So much has been committed to the people of our generation. The Bible is more accessible to people in first world countries than it has ever been before. Are you taking advantage of this opportunity? The prophet Hosea delivers a strong warning: “My people [the Lord’s people] …  are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).

If people today were like the Bereans and checked the Bible to find out the truth, there would be thousands of people loyal to God’s government and His law, where now there is only one. Many who profess to love God have no desire to change from error to truth and they cling to the pleasing fables that the Bible predicted would abound in the last days.

Error blinds the mind and leads from God, but the truth is light to the mind and life to the soul. Error cannot sanctify.

Paul left Berea to escape from the Jews and went to Athens, a city that was the metropolis of heathen religions and philosophy. There he spent a period of time alone. This city was completely different from Lystra where Paul had been stoned. Lystra was home to an ignorant, credulous populace, but in Athens, there were people who were famous for their intelligence and education. The city was adorned by the many statues of their gods and deified heroes from their history. There were poetry, paintings, architecture, and images all over town that represented the glory and popular worship of heathen deities.

The Bible says in Acts 17:16, 17, “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.”

A tremendous amount of money and wealth had been expended in producing all of the sculptures, shrines, and the vast gallery of art. The average person’s senses are taken in with pleasure at seeing such a spectacle of wealth—the beauty, the grandeur, and such beautiful displays of human workmanship. But when the apostle Paul looked on this city full of idols, he was stirred with jealousy for God, whom he saw dishonored on every side.

The second commandment, Exodus 20:4–6, which is also the second longest commandment of the ten, strictly prohibits any kind of idolatry. God hates idolatry. In Revelation, the Lord pronounces that there are going to be certain people who will not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven but will be left on the outside. It says, “Outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie” (Revelation 22:15).

In Athens, the people were intellectually great, but they were given over to idolatry. Paul perceived that this human art deified vice and made falsehood attractive and understood that the joy and splendor of these riches would never give eternal life. To him, all earthly pomp and glory was valueless if you failed to receive eternal life. Jesus said, “What will it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul” (Mark 8:36, literal translation)? Looking at the magnificence of the city and costly displays, Paul saw the seductive influence over the minds of those who were lovers of art and science. Paul had a job to do; he understood that he had been given a life mission just as Christ has given a commission to all of His followers (see Matthew 28:19, 20). That mission is to bear the tidings of salvation to people who had no intelligent understanding of God and His plans.

Paul was not in Athens to gratify a desire to see new things or have new experiences. He was there on a mission from God, and was grieved as he saw idolatry abound everywhere and sought to reason with the people. Paul realized that the religion of Athens, of which they made great boast, was of no value, because it was destitute of the knowledge of the true God. Like much of the religions of today, their religion consisted of art worship, beautiful music, a round of dissipating amusement and festivities, and religious rituals, but lacked the virtue of true goodness. Genuine religion of the heart and mind results in victory over the sinful nature, victory over sinful habits. (See Romans 6 and 8, John 8; 1 John 3.)

If your religion is merely intellectual and wanting in the realization of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life, it will not be able to raise you above the sinful desires of the sinful nature so that you can enjoy victory over sin and live in harmony with the law of God. Paul preached in Athens about the resurrection from the dead. With all their philosophy, they did not have any system of religion that could bring deliverance from death, and they knew it.

Paul gave one of the most scintillating and intellectually challenging discourses that you will find in all the Bible. He was in a very dangerous situation and knew that if he should make a direct attack on their religious beliefs, his life would be in danger. Paul used a very interesting technique here, and approached them with great tact as he exposed the futility of their religion. The Bible says, “Certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, ‘What does this babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,’ because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, ‘May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.’ For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:18–21).

Paul stood on the top of Mars Hill, at the most sacred place of the city, the Areopagus, and said to them, “ ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious’ ” (verse 22). This was true; the city had all kinds of idols and shrines, religious paintings, and sculptures everywhere. He continued, “ ‘… for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you’ ” (verse 23).

He told them that they were already worshiping the unknown God, one they did not know that they honored with an idol, and that it is the God they didn’t know that he was going to tell them about.

Who is this unknown God? Paul said, He is “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands” (verse 24). There were many temples in that city, but Paul told them that the God of whom he spoke made the heavens, the earth, and everything in it, and does not need a man-made temple to dwell in.

In fact, Paul said in verse 25, first part, “Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything.” He’s not worshiped by objects of art or manmade sculptures or anything that can be made by our hands, “since He gives to all life, breath, and all things” (verse 25, last part).

Then Paul said in verse 26, concerning this God, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth.” This is a very interesting statement. As human beings, we are tempted to have racial prejudice, political prejudice, religious prejudice, and national prejudice, but the apostle Paul says, that God has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth. We are all related to every other human being by blood.

O, friend, the Bible does not teach that we are to look down on some other nationality, some other race, or people of some other religion. All are created in the image of God, all are made of one blood, and therefore we should look at all others as brothers.

He says, “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (verses 26, 27, literal translation). He challenged them to consider their purpose, to seek and find this Lord, the One who’s made heaven and earth, the One who gives to all life, and breath, and all things; He can’t be worshiped by something made by human hands, as though He needed anything, because He is the One that gives all, gives life, and breath, and everything they have.

“For in Him we live and move and have our being” (verse 28, first part).

Paul showed them that he was familiar with their religion and their heathen authors when he said to them, “As also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’ ” (verse 28, last part).  He says, “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising” (verse 29). He showed them that these idols they were worshiping were actually useless, because they were controlled by human power. They could only move as human beings moved them showing that those who worshiped them were in every way superior to what they worshiped. He appealed to them that they should not think that the divine nature is something like this. Man was created in the image of God and was blessed with intellectual power, a perfect and symmetrical body, so we should not think that God can be likened to something that man can make.

Finally, this very interesting excuse was given for their ignorance of the true God. “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (verse 30). O, friend, have you ever thought through that text? God has overlooked the time in your past life when, maybe, you didn’t know any better, but when you find out the truth, the Lord says that you need to repent; you need to change your mind. Also, we know from this verse that there is no human being that is infallible, because an infallible being does not need to repent, but it says, “God commands all men everywhere to repent.”

Repentance is one of the first steps toward being saved. It is one of the first steps in the plan of salvation. When John the Baptist came, he preached to the people that they should repent. When Jesus began to preach, He said to the people, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost he said, “Repent” (Acts 2:38).

When Peter preached to people who did not know the truth, he explained that there is a God in heaven who made everything and doesn’t need anything from us. We cannot do anything to add to His power or glory. He explained that in the time of their ignorance, God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent.

Paul said, “God … now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained [Jesus Christ]. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30, 31).

God has appointed a day, a certain time in the future, when He is going to judge this whole world in righteousness.

O, friend, are you ready for the judgment? You will never be ready for the judgment unless you have repented of your sins. Have you surrendered your heart to the Lordship and sovereignty of Jesus Christ, or are you worshiping other gods? It may not be a god of gold or silver. It could be a philosophical god. Some people worship their own or other’s intellect, neglecting to worship the One who made it. There were few people who accepted the apostle Paul’s teaching and became Christians. The majority refused having too much confidence in their own philosophy.

The Bible says, “In the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).

O, friend, it is the same today as it has been in all ages. Those who think that they are very wise do not accept the wisdom that comes from God alone.

How is it with you? Are you wise in your own sight, or are you willing to accept the knowledge of God that He has revealed in His word? The choice is yours.

 

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

 

Health Nugget – The Pathway of Smell

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Do you appreciate your little nose?

“The nose is the smelling room of the body. It is more than a room—it is in reality a wonderful little house. It is three stories high and is made up of many curious rooms and winding stairs. Two doors, the nostrils, admit the air laden with odors to the waiting room or vestibule. Most of the air passes back through the hall on the first floor, some of it goes up stairs to the second floor and visits the various chambers, but the odors one and all make haste to reach the rooms on the third floor. In the walls of these upper rooms are thousands of delicate hair-like projections ready to be touched.

“These projections are like electric buttons in a house or a hotel. … The very gentlest touch of an odor on one of these hairs or “smell bodies” in the smell chamber of the nose, rings a bell in your office in the brain and tells you that a rose is waiting to be enjoyed or that you are in disagreeable or dangerous air … these little smell bodies, which are called olfactory cells, send different messages to the brain for different odors. …

“Every fragrant odor is healthful or full of health. It makes us breathe more deeply and thus brings more life into the blood, more vigor to the brain.

“Bad odors have just the opposite effect. They warn us of danger in the air and keep us from breathing gases and fumes that would poison us. How often in passing a factory or some other place where there is a bad smell you hold your nose shut to keep out the odor. At the same time you are keeping out bad air.

“You cannot smell any one odor very long at a time. If you do not heed the warning of a bad smell soon the warning will no longer be given. If you bury your nose in a fragrant bouquet or hold it close to the top of a bottle of perfume almost at once you cease to smell anything at all. If you keep smelling and smelling of some sweet flower your very eagerness destroys your pleasure. The odor cannot be constantly smelled. In three minutes or in a shorter time it will be gone. This is because the power of the smell cells is limited. You have been trying to make them work too hard. They are so built that they cannot overdo. If you wait a few moments and let them rest they will go to work again and you can again smell the flower, the perfume, the gas.

“In this the smell cells are like the taste buds. After one has been eating for half an hour the food does not taste as it did at first. The taste buds as well as the smell cells become tired and need a rest. The first mouthful has the keenest taste. The first whiff of an odor has the keenest smell.

“Just as the taste buds in the mouth stand, like sentinels, at the beginning of the food passage to see that nothing dangerous enters, so the smell cells stand, like sentinels, at the beginning of the breathing passage, guarding all the air we breathe.

“The air often carries other enemies besides bad odors. Just inside the doors of the nose, in the nostrils, are several little stiff hairs, that are placed there to keep out these enemies. They keep out flies and other insects as well as the dust. If dust or dirt or insect passes these guards it is caught by the moist walls of the nose.

“In many places, especially in some large cities the air is so full of dust that it forces its way past these sentinels through the nose into the throat and lungs where it often causes disease.

“If the air is very cold or very hot the front doors of the nose are partly closed by certain little muscles whose duty it is to keep watch and not let in any more cold air or hot air than it is safe to breathe. When these little muscles are holding the door shut it makes our noses look thin and ‘pinched.’ Notice this on a cold frosty morning. It is not Jack Frost that is pinching your nose but the little muscles in the tip of your nose that are shutting the doors to keep out Jack Frost. …

“Smell and Taste are good friends and work together. One helps the other. But smell helps taste more than taste helps smell.

“Sometimes you get up in the morning to find that you have a cold in the head. You try to breathe through your nose but cannot. You cannot smell. You sit down to breakfast but you cannot eat. The food does not taste good. You push back your plate and give up trying to eat. This is just what smell and taste were working for. Your cold will disappear sooner if you do not eat much, so they make eating uncomfortable and disagreeable. Every part of the body is all the time helping every other part to keep the living temple growing healthy and strong and beautiful.” Excerpts from The Story of a Living Temple, Frederick M. Rossiter, published by Forgotten Books 2012—originally published in 1902, 43–49.

Praise the Lord for the gift of a nose!

Question & Answer: How did Nero die?

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The apostle Paul was tried before Nero, emperor of Rome.

“For a moment, heaven was opened to the guilty and hardened Nero, and its peace and purity seemed desirable. That moment the invitation of mercy was extended even to him. But only for a moment was the thought of pardon welcomed. Then the command was issued that Paul be taken back to his dungeon; and as the door closed upon the messenger of God, the door of repentance closed forever against the emperor of Rome. No ray of light from heaven was ever again to penetrate the darkness that enveloped him. Soon he was to suffer the retributive judgments of God.

“Not long after this, Nero sailed on his infamous expedition to Greece, where he disgraced himself and his kingdom by contemptible and debasing frivolity. Returning to Rome with great pomp, he surrounded himself with his courtiers and engaged in scenes of revolting debauchery. In the midst of this revelry a voice of tumult in the streets was heard. A messenger dispatched to learn the cause, returned with the appalling news that Galba, at the head of an army, was marching rapidly upon Rome, that insurrection had already broken out in the city, and that the streets were filled with an enraged mob, which, threatening death to the emperor and all his supporters, was rapidly approaching the palace.

“In this time of peril, Nero had not, like the faithful Paul, a powerful and compassionate God on whom to rely. Fearful of the suffering and possible torture he might be compelled to endure at the hands of the mob, the wretched tyrant thought to end his life by his own hand, but at the critical moment his courage failed. Completely unmanned, he fled ignominiously from the city and sought shelter at a countryseat a few miles distant, but to no avail. His hiding place was soon discovered, and as the pursuing horsemen drew near, he summoned a slave to his aid and inflicted on himself a mortal wound. Thus perished the tyrant Nero, at the early age of thirty-two.” The Acts of the Apostles, 496, 497.

Keys to the Storehouse – Undimmed Flame

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An undimmed flame is not dull, faint, gloomy or blurred; it is bright! “Their light burned with undimmed flame through the night of watching. It helped to swell the illumination for the bridegroom’s honor. Shining out in the darkness, it helped to illuminate the way to the home of the bridegroom, to the marriage feast.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 414.

We are in that night of watching! What is that light burning with undimmed flame? What is that light that is shining on the path of many people, directing their eyes heavenward? It is God’s character shining forth through us! This is that “undimmed flame … shining out in the darkness.” This is God’s character, His thoughts and feelings, shining through us. We are told that the “thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 310. This is that undimmed flame!

“So the followers of Christ are to shed light into the darkness of the world. Through the Holy Spirit,

  • God’s word is a light
  • as it becomes a transforming power in the life of the receiver.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 414.

As God’s word becomes a transforming power in our lives, it becomes that light shining forth into the darkness! “By implanting in their hearts the principles of His word, the Holy Spirit develops in men the attributes of God.

  • The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers.
  • Thus they are to glorify God,
  • to lighten the path to the Bridegroom’s home,
  • to the city of God,
  • to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Ibid.

Is your light burning with undimmed flame, lighting the path to the city of God? Has the light of God’s word become a transforming power in your life?  Remember: “Through the Holy Spirit, God’s word is a light as it becomes a transforming power in the life of the receiver.” Ibid. [Emphasis supplied.] Are you transformed?

The foolish virgins had light from God’s word, but had not the transforming power in their life. “We cannot keep Christ apart from our lives here, and yet be fitted for His companionship in heaven.” Ibid. Do you belong to Christ or the world? Do you shine or are you beclouded?

To His people God says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee” (Isaiah 60:1, 2).

 

Father: Let the Holy Spirit transform my life that I may shine forth. May the Holy Spirit, through Your Word, develop in me Your attributes. I do not want to end up a foolish virgin. Let the light of Thy character shine through me. Amen.

 

Inspiration – Restored Access to the Tree of Life

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Dear young friends, You live in a dark and wicked world, subject to sickness, pain and death. You may see many things that look beautiful; but how soon they fade away. You may have a dear friend that you love; but soon that one may be torn from you by sickness and death, and you will then feel lonesome.

You should have something substantial to fix your minds and affections upon, that can give real satisfaction and joy, and cheer your spirits in this dark world, and cause your sorrows to bring joy in the end.

There is a blight upon everything. The earth feels the curse that God pronounced upon it, because of the disobedience of our first parents. They broke the command of God in eating of the forbidden tree, after He had given them the privilege of eating of all the other trees in the garden. They listened to the tempter, ate of the forbidden tree, and were expelled from the beautiful garden of Eden.

The earth that was then so beautiful, was cursed, and the flaming sword was placed around the tree of life to guard it, lest man, in his sin, should approach that tree, and eat of its immortal fruit, and by so doing, live in sin forever.

The tree of life was designed to perpetuate immortality. Adam and Eve could eat of that tree, and enjoy its rich immortal fruit, until they transgressed the command of God. Death was then pronounced upon them, and all that should ever live upon the earth. There was no way of escape for us; no provision that we might again have access to the tree of life, if we would repent. Whatever evils might befall us, there was then no other way than to bear them without hope of having right to the tree of life, to eat of its leaves and fruit, and be healed. We must ever suffer and groan beneath the curse.

But the Son of God, who was with the Father before the world was, took pity upon us in our lost condition, and offered to step in between us and the wrath of an offended God. Said Jesus, I will give My life for them. I will take the burden of the sins of the world upon me, and will make a way possible for these transgressors to find pardon, and enjoy Thy favor again, that they may repent and keep Thy commandments, and again have access to the tree of life. God consented to give His only Son to die for lost man (John 3:16).

The lovely Jesus laid aside His glory, and came into this dark world, and took upon Himself our nature, to be wounded for our transgression, to be bruised for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). O, what love for us.— He led a self-denying life, and had not where to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, was despised and rejected, and finally was crucified for us (Isaiah 53:3).

But you must not think that you have nothing to do, because Christ died for you. You must repent of all your sins, and give your hearts to God, and then believe that the blood of Christ will cleanse you from all sin. Then, if you keep all the commandments of God, the Sabbath with the rest, you may through the merits of Christ, be brought back to the tree of life. This will be when Jesus comes to raise the righteous dead, and change the living saints. Then you will have right to the tree of life (Revelation 22:14), and eat of the leaves, and immortal fruit of the tree of life and live for ever in perfect happiness.

The Youth’s Instructor, August 1852.

Children Story – Captain John Smith

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Among the first people who came from England to live in the New World was a man named Captain John Smith. He and his people called the village which they built Jamestown, in honor of King James of England. This was in Virginia, in the year 1607. There were about one hundred men in the village. They had no families, or, if they had, they left them in England. Most of the men had come to find gold and get rich, and then return to England. Some wanted to see this wonderful new world that everywhere in Europe people were talking about.

About half of the men in this company were so-called “gentlemen.” They were not used to hard work. They did not want to chop wood. They did not know how to cultivate the soil. There were some who could refine gold, and these might have been quite useful if there had been any gold to refine. There was even one man who could make perfume. But these gold seekers did not care for perfume. Fortunately, there were among them a few carpenters, a blacksmith, a mason, a barber, and a tailor.

The first summer in Jamestown was a hard one. Some of the people lived in tents. Some dug caves in the hillside to live in. A few built log cabins. The food they had brought with them from England was soon gone, and the corn they had planted was not ready to be gathered. The men did not know how to take care of themselves, and many of them became sick. By September, half their number had died.

Captain John Smith was then made president of the colony. And he saved it from destruction. How did he do it? He set every man to work. He said, “Those who will not work, shall not eat.” He trained the tender “gentlemen” till they learned how to swing the ax in the forest. He taught them that the surest way to make a fortune is by hard, honest labor. He showed them how to build comfortable log huts for the winter. He made friends among the Indians, and from them he bought corn and other food.

A tribe of Indians, called the Powhatans, were the nearest neighbors of the white men. Usually they were friendly, but not always. Once during the winter, when Captain Smith was among them, they caught him and prepared to kill him. They were going to tie him to a tree to be burned.

All at once, he thought of a little compass that he had in his pocket. He pulled it out, and began to explain it to the Indians. He showed them the trembling needle. He told them it kept him from being lost in the woods. He said it always told him just which way to go to find Jamestown. They wondered how that could be.

Then he told them about the shape of the earth. He talked to them about the motions of the moon and the stars. He explained how the sun and the moon and the stars chase one another. They were so interested and delighted that they forgot to kill him.

At last he promised to give his gun to the one who would take a piece of paper to his people in Jamestown. On this piece of paper they saw him make a few marks, but they did not know what these marks meant. When the Indians who carried the paper to Jamestown found that it told his friends of his misfortune, they were astonished. They could not understand how the white man could make the paper talk. They thought he must be some kind of god, and they did not dare to kill him.

Then Captain Smith gave them some seeds. These they afterwards planted, expecting to reap a harvest for their next year. After that the Indians let the white man go free, and he returned to Jamestown in safety.

A few years later, Captain Smith was so badly burned by an explosion that he had to go to England, where he could have a doctor’s care. Here he stayed during the rest of his life. Captain John Smith will always be remembered as the man who saved from starvation and death the first English settlement in America.

True Education Reader, Fourth Grade, Pacific Press Publishing Association, © 1931, 52–55.

 

Six years after John Smith’s exploration, the Pilgrims set out for the New World after fleeing persecution for their religious beliefs from the Church of England. They set sail on a long and dangerous voyage across the Atlantic in the leaky, top-heavy Mayflower. Landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Pilgrims befriended the Indians and endured many hardships. After a successful harvest in the New World, they celebrated their first Thanksgiving feast with their Native American friends in the autumn of 1621.

Thankful

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“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

It is an unqualified command, and it is a command just as surely as are the words, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).

“It is a very difficult commandment to obey,” do you say? No: “His commandments are not grievous.” It is impossible, however, to obey any commandment of God, when it is regarded from the human side, merely as a commandment; we must know it as a promise, and then it becomes a delight. Obedience to the commandment, “In everything give thanks,” not only brings, but is the highest happiness that human hearts can know.

What have we to be thankful for?—Everything. Listen: “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32)? Now the very thought of God’s free gift must awaken love, “and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28). Since God cannot but give us all things in Christ, and in Him all things are for our good, how can we be otherwise than thankful in everything?

“How can I be thankful when I know that I am a sinner, and that I am lost?” Easily enough, when you know that “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). If you feel lost, that should remind you that the Lord Jesus Christ is good at finding.

“Ah, but you don’t know how great a sinner I am; you would feel depressed if you felt yourself to be the greatest sinner in the world.”

Not by any means; so much the more for joy. “Faithful is the saying, of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief; howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all longsuffering” (1 Timothy 1:15, 16, R.V.). “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). The greater the sin, the greater the saving grace bestowed. Then thank God.

“But I have so many temptations; how can I give thanks in the midst of them?”

“My brethren, count it all joy, when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2–4). How can one help being thankful for that which makes him perfect, and brings him everything good?

“Oh, but I have more trials and trouble than anybody else in the world.”

Good! then you have more to be thankful for than anybody else in the world; for have you never read: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5). The greater the trial, the greater the comfort.

“I am so very poor and needy, I lack everything; how can I give thanks?” Your great need should simply remind you of the promise, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19). The more needy you are, the more you get. “I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me” (Psalm 40:17). “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him” (James 2:5)? Your poverty is your wealth.

“But I am so vacillating, so easily swayed; the slightest breath moves me, and I cannot stand.”

Then thank God doubly for that, “because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4); and if you are so easily swayed by the Holy Spirit. Only let the breath of Christ blow upon you, and it will always carry you in the right direction with the force of “a rushing mighty wind”(Acts 2:2).

The fact is, Christ has so completely identified Himself with humanity, that there is not any circumstance in life, no condition of the soul or body, no need or frailty, that does not in itself suggest the fullness of God in Him. Whatever poverty or temptation or suffering we have, whether as the direct result of our own folly, or from causes of which we are not personally responsible, we may know that they are the sufferings of Christ, and find the joy of deliverance in the knowledge. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.”

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16, last part). It seems to a great many that these words drive off the thought of effectual prayer further than ever, for they would not presume to say that they were righteous. But how does anyone become righteous? “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5). “Being justified freely by His grace,” we obtain righteousness, “even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe” (Romans 3:22).

Therefore the man who is righteous becomes so by believing the glad tidings which God declares to all, “concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” He has learned how to take what God gives, and having learned how to take the greatest gift of all, he knows how simple a matter it is to receive all things else.

For to the man who receives Jesus Christ, everything else is given. It can not be otherwise. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32)? And Jesus, speaking of food and drink and clothing, says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

God does not force allegiance. He waits for it. The crown of our own individual love and loyalty must be offered by our own hands.

The Present Truth (UK) 80. February 2, 1899.