Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

May 31, 2020

5/31/2020

THE WARMEST WELCOME

        His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord."--Matthew 25:23

    When God honors His commandment-keeping people, He would not have one of the enemies of truth and righteousness absent. And when the transgressors of His law receive their condemnation, He would have all the righteous behold the result of sin....

    He who occupies the position of Judge is God manifest in the flesh. What a consolation it will be to recognize in the Judge our Teacher and Redeemer, bearing all the marks of the crucifixion, from which shine beams of glory, giving additional value to the crowns which the redeemed receive from His hands, the very hands outstretched in blessing over His disciples as He ascended.

    The very voice which said to them, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" [Matthew 28:20], bids them welcome to His presence. The very one who gave His precious life for them, who by His grace moved their hearts to repentance, who awakened them to their need of salvation, received them now into His joy.

    O how they love Him! The realization of their hopes is so much greater than their expectation! They take their glittering crowns and cast them at His feet. Their joy is complete. (Letter 131, October 14, 1900)

REFLECTION: You cannot imagine any sweeter words from Christ than these: "Well done, good and faithful servant....Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matthew 25:23).

May 30, 2020

5/30/2020

May 30                                DESIRE FOR NEW LIGHT CAUSES DEATH

        If that evil servant says in his heart, "My master is delaying his coming,"...the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of.--Matthew 24:48, 50

    Those who exalt self place themselves in Satan's power, preparing to receive his deceptions as truth. There are ministers and workers who will present a tissue of nonsensical falsehoods as testing truths, even as the Jewish rabbis presented the maxims of men as the bread of heaven. Sayings of no value are given to the flock of God as their portion of meat in due season while the poor sheep are starving for the bread of life....

    This fanciful mixture of food that is being prepared for the flock will cause spiritual consumption, decline and death....

    As in the days of Noah, those who have had great light will show their inconsistency. Because Christ's coming has been long foretold, they conclude that there is a mistake in regard to this doctrine....Shall we who claim to be students of prophecy forget that God's forbearance to the wicked is a part of His vast and merciful plan, by which He is seeking to compass the salvation of souls? Shall we be found among the number who cease to co-operate with the Lord, and who are found saying, My Lord delayeth His coming?...

    The final judgment is a most solemn, awful event. This must take place before the universe. To the Lord Jesus the Father has committed all judgment. He will declare the reward of loyalty to [all who obey] the law of Jehovah. God will be honored and His government vindicated and glorified, and that in the presence of the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds. On the largest possible scale will the government of God be vindicated and exalted. It is not the judgment of one individual or of one nation, but of the whole world. Oh, what a change will then be made in the understanding of all created beings. Then all will see the value of eternal life. (Letter 131, October 14, 1900)

REFLECTION: The evil servant says in his heart, "My lord delayeth his coming." He does not say that Christ will not come. He does not scoff at the idea of His second coming. But in his heart and by his actions and words he declares that the Lord's coming is delayed. He banishes from the minds of others the conviction that the Lord is coming quickly. His influence leads men to presumptuous, careless delay. (The Desire of Ages, 635)

May 29, 2020

5/29/2020

NOTHING IS WORTH IT

        Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?"--Matthew 7:22

    Fallen men and fallen angels are sure to join in desperate companionship. He who fell because of apostasy works constantly against goodness and obedience. He is leagued with those who refuse to keep God's law.

    In the day of judgment all this opens up before the impenitent. Scene after scene passes before them. As plainly as in the light of the noon-day sun, they all see what they might have been had they cooperated with God instead of opposing Him.

    The picture cannot be changed. Their cases are forever decided. They must perish with the one whose ways and works they followed.

    A flash of light will come to all lost souls. They will see clearly the mystery of godliness, which during their lifetime they despised and hated. And the fallen angels, endowed with higher intelligence than man, will realize what they have done in using their powers to lead human beings to choose deception and falsehood. All who have united with the deceiver, all who have learned his ways and practiced his deceptions, must perish with him....The Lord Jesus looks pityingly upon them and says, "Depart." (Manuscript 37, July 8, 1900)

    When the redeemed stand before the throne of God to answer to their names, there will be precious souls there who will respond because of the faithful, patient efforts made in their behalf, the entreaties and urgent persuasion to flee to the stronghold. Thus those who are laborers together with God will receive their reward. (Letter 74, May 20, 1900)

REFLECTION: No amount of fame or money, or any kind of worldly gain, will be worth hearing those words: "I never knew you; depart from Me" (Matthew 7:23).

May 28, 2020

5/28/2020

LEAVE RESULTS TO GOD

        In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good.--Ecclesiastes 11:6

    In the day when every one shall be rewarded according to his work has been, how will transgressors appear in their own sight as for a few moments they are permitted to see the record of their life as they have chosen to make it, regardless of the law which through the eternal ages will govern the universe? They will then see what God desired them to do. They will realize that they should have used their blood-bought privileges in behalf of truth and righteousness. They will see that instead of placing their talents and influence on the side of rebellion, thus strengthening the forces of the enemy, they should have devoted their powers to being and doing good....

    In the day of the judgment men will see what they might have become through the power of Christ. They will see the robbery that they have practiced toward God. They will realize that they have apostatized from their Creator. They will see the good they might have done but did not do. They utterly refused to be made better. The efforts put forth in their behalf were in vain. They knew the claims of God, but they refused to comply with the conditions laid down in His Word. By their own choice they were united with demons. The power given them to use in God's service they used in the service of self. They made self their god, refusing to submit to any other control. They deceived themselves, and made themselves contemptible in the sight of God.

    As they worked on the side of the power of darkness, they encouraged others to do the same. They arrayed themselves, soul, body, and spirit on the side of the enemy, laying as a willing offering on the altar of Satan that which they should have given to God. (Manuscript 37, July 8, 1900)

REFLECTION: The good seed may for a time lie unnoticed in a cold, selfish, worldly heart, giving no evidence that it has taken root; but afterward, as the Spirit of God breathes on the soul, the hidden seed springs up....In our lifework we know not which shall prosper, this or that. This is not a question for us to settle. We are to do our work, and leave the results with God. (Christ's Object Lessons, 65)

May 27, 2020

5/27/2020

TRUE REPENTANCE

        Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.--Acts 3:19

    I urge you to consider what the opening of the books of heaven will reveal. The book of remembrance will confront you at the judgment bar, revealing in distinct lines the long-suffering of God. God could cut you down as a cumberer of the ground, but instead He points you to the open door, and says, "Repent, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out."

    In the judgment when every case is decided, there will be revealed in its fulness the responsibility of every man. You will realize the influence you might have had over other souls had you stood under the bloodstained banner of Jesus Christ. How interwoven is the web of human influence! The course of action followed by every man has a direct bearing upon the life of others.

    I have had presented to me the solemn scenes of the judgment, and I now ask you to stop and consider, How is it with my soul? (Letter 52, March 23, 1899)

    Mighty, invisible powers are acting their part in the affairs of men in the last great conflict. The warfare will be so conducted that the power, which has exalted itself above God and has enlisted souls in rebellion against God, will work out fully the principles of disobedience. Every mouth shall confess the glory of God. It will be plainly seen that the principles of righteousness and obedience to God's law are above all powers, and that the retribution which falls upon transgressors is just.

    The unfallen worlds and the heavenly universe will see the results of the apostasy of Satan and will acknowledge God as the living and only true God. The forces of rebellion will confess God's righteousness, but this acknowledgment will not give them another probation. Their cases are forever settled. After the second resurrection, Satan, the root, and his children the branches, will perish together. (Letter 25, February 6, 1900)

REFLECTION: Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life. (Steps to Christ, 23)

May 26, 2020

5/26/2020

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

        Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?--Mark 8:37

    This will be a serious matter for those who have assumed the responsibility of administering justice, and who for the sake of gain have done injustice to their fellow men. Those men who are standing in responsible positions may know that whatever dishonors God is a transgression of his law, and places them at the bar of God to render an account for their deeds. The man who have supposed that they can violate the principles of righteousness, and that it will come out right in the end, may know that for all things the Lord will bring them into judgment.

    There are men, in the church and in the world, who have educated themselves to practice fraud, and for this they will be brought into judgment....men have chosen to stand, not under the blood stained banner of Prince Immanuel, but under the rebel flag to do the works of a rebellious prince. They may have sold their souls for money. They may have taken their Lord's money to purchase wheat and the facilities whereby poor men live, that they may extort from the Lord's creatures the highest prices. They make for themselves princely fortunes.

    The cries of starving humanity are coming up before God, while these men bow down to their senseless idols as verily as do the heathen to their gods of wood and stone. Though the whole world were in league to prove it otherwise, every dollar gained in this unholy traffic wraps a curse up with it. The larger the bank stock the more sure will be the judgment of God. (Letter 89, October 30, 1898)

REFLECTION: Nothing is worth losing eternal life. "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). The obvious answer is nothing; if we lose out on heaven we lose everything.

May 25, 2020

5/25/2020

GOD'S GIFTS WASTED

        Take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents....And cast the unprofitable servant into the darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.--Matthew 25:28, 30

    At the present time there are those placed as jurors, senators, lawyers, and judges, who forget that God is a party to all their transactions, and that He will call them to give an account of all their injustice toward their fellow men, in causing the innocent to suffer and the guilty to escape. Men have so long done this that they have forgotten God. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil." But the God of truth is a witness to every false oath, and the Holy One that inhabiteth eternity will not serve with their sins.

    No man can violate justice in the common courts of today, but he will sooner or later understand that all fraud, all deception, will stand open to the universe of heaven and to the inhabitants of earth. God has given to men the talents of reason, of speech, of discrimination, and if they pervert God's gifts and use them to work fraud and unrighteousness and injustice, the Lord will surely bring them into judgment.

    God is either served by the reason and talents He has entrusted to men, or He is dishonored by them. He sees the transactions of the children of men. No one can practice falsehood, no one can receive a bribe to clear men from the consequence of their guilt and fasten the wrong upon the innocent, but the Lord will bring them into judgment for it. (Letter 89, October 30, 1898)

REFLECTION: So often we see God's gifts used for selfish reasons that dishonor God. Gifts or talents of music, athletic ability, and even beauty, which could be used to uplift and glorify our Savior are used instead for personal fame and fortune. When God blesses us with gifts, we should use them to glorify our Father in heaven.

May 24, 2020

5/24/2020

A PERFECT LAW

        The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.--Psalm 19:7

    Since "the law of the Lord is perfect," every variation from it must be evil. Those who disobey the commandments of God, and teach others to do so, are condemned by Christ. The Saviour's life of obedience maintained the claims of the law; it proved that the law could be kept in humanity, and showed the excellence of character that obedience would develop. All who obey as He did are likewise declaring that the law is "holy, and just, and good." Romans 7:12.

    On the other hand, all who break God's commandments are sustaining Satan's claim that the law is unjust, and cannot be obeyed. Thus they second the deceptions of the great adversary, and cast dishonor upon God. They are the children of the wicked one, who was the first rebel against God's law. To admit them into heaven would again bring in the elements of discord and rebellion, and imperil the well-being of the universe. No man who willfully disregards one principle of the law shall enter the kingdom of heaven....

    The greatest deception of the human mind in Christ's day was that a mere assent to the truth constitutes righteousness. In all human experience a theoretical knowledge of the truth has been proved to be insufficient for the saving of the soul. It does not bring forth the fruits of righteousness. A jealous regard for what is termed theological truth often accompanies a hatred of genuine truth as made manifest in life. The darkest chapters of history are burdened with the record of crimes committed by bigoted religionists....

    The same danger still exists. Many take it for granted that they are Christians, simply because they subscribe to certain theological tenets. But they have not brought the truth into practical life. They have not believed and loved it, therefore they have not received the power and grace that come through sanctification of the truth. (Desire of Ages, 308-310)

REFLECTION: Without the law, men have no just conception of the purity and holiness of God or of their own guilt and uncleanness. They have no true conviction of sin and feel no need of repentance. Not seeing their lost condition as violators of God's law, they do not realize their need of the atoning blood of Christ. The hope of salvation is accepted without a radical change of heart or reformation of life. Thus superficial conversions abound, and multitudes are joined to the church who have never been united to Christ. (The Great Controversy, 468)

May 23, 2020

5/23/2020

WISE UNTO SALVATION

        You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.--John 5:39

    The same Jesus whose atonement has been rejected, whose followers have been despised and reviled, will be "revealed from heaven in flaming fire taking vengeance upon them that know no God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." "Then shall all the kindreds of the earth wail because of him."...

    Too well do the unprepared inhabitants of earth know what to expect. Satan cannot pay a ransom for their souls, and poor deluded, professed Christians, who have been content to let the ministers do their searching of the Scriptures, see that they will receive as their works have been. Those, too, who have wrested the Scriptures and taught for doctrine the commandments of men, see that they must answer for the souls of those whom they have led into error and apostasy. A wail of despair and agony reaches heavenward, but it is echoed back to earth. Louder, far louder than any human cry, is the last trumpet's sound, and far above all is heard the voice of Omnipotence: "depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Manuscript 39, March 11, 1898)

REFLECTION: We can know the Bible in our heads but not in our hearts. The words of Christ are not he that knows the will of My Father, but "he that doeth the will of my Father" (Matthew 7:21). We need to hide God's Word in our hearts and be obedient accordingly.

May 22, 2020

5/22/2020

SECOND COMING IS BETTER THAN THE FIRST

        The powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.--Luke 21:26-28

    In that day the law of God is to be revealed in its majesty, and man who has broken that law, and stood in defiant rebellion against its holy precepts, will understand that that law which they have despised, discarded, and trampled under foot is God's standard of character. Every commandment-keeping soul, every transgressor will have placed before him the scene when the Sabbath was first given to man in Eden. When the foundations of the earth were laid, and all the sons of God shouted for joy, then it was that the Sabbath was instituted. This scene will be vividly brought before every mind.

    Those who have ministered in word and doctrine, who, by smooth words and fair speeches have taught men that the law of God is no longer binding, that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment was only given for the Jews; those who have educated their hearts to show contempt for the warnings sent by the Lord's prophets and apostles and delegated servants, will have brought to their mind the scenes of Sinai with all their grandeur....

    All heaven recognized the advent of Christ....

    And will Christ's second coming be wanting in Glory? No; He comes to triumph. At His death creation shrouded itself in darkness, and all nature sympathized with His sorrow and humiliation. And nature will testify her triumph at His second appearing. (Manuscript 39, March 11, 1898)

REFLECTION: Christ's first advent was relatively quiet. The world, for the most part, was asleep when He arrived the first time. It will be much different at His second coming. Every eye will see Him and the glory of heaven will fill every corner of our earth.