Persevering Through Difficulties
 
        But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope unto the end.  Hebrews 3:6
 
    Throughout the history of God's people great mountains of difficulty, apparently insurmountable, have loomed up before those who were trying to carry out the purposes of Heaven.  Such obstacles are permitted by the Lord as a test of faith.  When we are hedged about on every side, this is the time above all others to trust in God and in the power of His Spirit.  The exercise of a living faith means an increase of spiritual strength and the development of an unfaltering trust.  It is thus that the soul becomes a conquering power.  Before the demand of faith, the obstacles placed by Satan across the pathway of the Christian will disappear; for the powers of heaven will come to his aid.  "Nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matthew 17:20).
 
    The way of the world is to begin with pomp and boasting.  God's way is to make the day of small things the beginning of the glorious triumph of truth and righteousness.  Sometimes He trains His workers by bringing to them disappointment and apparent failure.  It is His purpose that they shall learn to master difficulties.
 
    Often men are tempted to falter before the perplexities and obstacles that confront them.  But if they will hold the beginning of thier confidence steadfast unto the end, God will make the way clear.  Success will come to them as they struggle against difficulties. (Prophets and Kings, 594, 595)
 
Reflection:  So often it is the little things that make such a big impact.  Remember when we are faithful in the small things in life we will be faithful in the larger things.  Let's take one day at a time.

 He Was Tempted
 
        For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.  Hebrews 2:18
 
    Christ alone had experience in all the sorrows and temptations that befall human beings.  Never another of woman born was so fiercely beset by temptation; never another bore so heavy a burden of the world's sin and pain.  Never was there another whose sympathies were so broad or so tender.  A sharer in all the experiences of humanity, he could feel not only for, but with, every burdened and tempted and struggling one.
 
    What He taught, He lived.  "I have given you an example," He said to His disciples, "that ye should do as I have done."  "I have kept My Father's commandments" (John 13:15; 15:10).  Thus in His life, Christ's words had perfect illustration and support.  And more than this; what He taught, He was.  His words were the expression, not only of His own life experience, but of His own character.  Not only did He teach the truth, but He was the truth.  It was this that gave His teaching, power. (Education, 78)
 
Reflection:  Because He became one of us and overcame, we can overcome by being one with Him.  And just like Jesus we will have power like Him when our lips coincide with our actions.  We will not only have the truth, but like Christ, we will be truth as it is in Jesus.

Christ Our Brother
 
        For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.  Hebrews 2:11
 
    Jesus teaches us to call His Father our Father.  He is not ashamed to call us brethren (Hebrews 2:11).  So ready, so eager, is the Saviour's heart to welcome us as members of the family of God, that in the very first words we are to use in approaching God He places the assurance of our divine relationship, "Our Father."
 
    Here is the announcement of that wonderful truth, so full of encouragement and comfort, that God loves us as He loves His Son.  This is what Jesus said in His last prayer for His disciples, Thou "hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me" (John 17:23)....
 
    How can we ever be in doubt and uncertainty, and feel that we are orphans?  It was in behalf of those who had transgressed the law that Jesus took upon Him human nature; He became like unto us, that we might have everlasting peace and assurance.  We have an Advocate in the heavens, and whoever accepts Him as a personal Saviour is not left an orphan to bear the burden of his own sins.  (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 104)
 
Reflection:  Not one of us has to be left out.  God's love knows no bounds.  No matter what we have done, when we are truly sorry for that sin and turn away by His power, we become his sons and daughters--children of the heavenly King and a brother and sister to Jesus.  Amazing Grace!

Ministering Angels
 
        Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth the minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?  Hebrews 1:14
 
    The connection of the visible with the invisible world, the ministration of angels of God, and the agency of evil spirits,, are plainly revealed in the Scriptures, and inseparably interwoven with human history.  There is a growing tendency to disbelief in the existence of evil spirits, while the holy angels that "minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" (Hebrews 1:14) are regarded by many as spirits of the dead.  But the Scriptures not only teach the existence of angels, both good and evil, but present unquestionable proof that these are not disembodied spirits of dead men.
 
    Before the creation of man, angels were in existence; for when the foundations of the earth were laid, "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:7).  After the fall of man, angels were sent to guard the tree of life, and this before a human being had died.  Angels are in nature superior to men, for the psalmist says that man was made "a little lower than the angels" (Psalm 8:5).
 
    Angels are sent on missions of mercy to the children of God.  To Abraham, with promises of blessings;...to David, while seeking divine wisdom in the court of a heathen king, or abandoned to become the lions' prey;...to Paul and his companions in the night of tempest on the sea;--thus holy angels have, in all ages, ministered to God's people. (The Great Controversy, 511, 512)
 
Reflection:  Let's never forget that we do not fight alone, because every Christian has a guardian angel.  These angels from heaven watch and will shield us from the power of Satan.

Jesus Pays the Debt
 
        If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.  If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put it on mine account; I Paul have written [it] with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.  Philemon 1:17-19
 
    Paul voluntarily proposed to assume the debt of Onesimus in order that the guilty one might be spared the disgrace of punishment, and might again enjoy the privileges he had forfeited.  "If thou count me therefore a partner," he wrote to Philemon, "receive him as myself.  If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put it on mine account; I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it."
 
    How fitting an illustration of the love of Christ for the repentant sinner!  The servant who had defrauded his master had nothing with which to make restitution.  The sinner who has robbed God of years of service has no means of canceling the debt.  Jesus interposes between the sinner and God, saying, I will pay the debt.  Let the sinner be spared; I will suffer in his stead. (The Acts of the Apostles, 458)
 
Reflection:  I am sure that if you are honest with yourself, it becomes clear that we could never begin to pay the debt that we owe Jesus.  And yet He freely cancels our debts.  When we have that kind of love which only comes from above, we will forgive others that despise and mistreat us.

Reward of Good Works
 
        Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.  Titus 2:14
 
    In the trust given to the first disciples, believers in every age have shared.  Everyone who has received the gospel has been given sacred truth to impart to the world.  God's faithful people have always been aggressive missionaries, consecrating their resources to the honor of His name and wisely using their talents in His service.
 
    The unselfish labor of Christians in the past should be to us an object lesson and an inspiration.  The members of God's church are to be zealous of good works, separating from worldly ambition and walking in the footsteps of Him who went about doing good.  With hearts filled with sympathy and compassion, they are to minister to those in need of help, bringing to sinners a knowledge of the Saviour's love.  Such work calls for laborious effort, but it brings a rich reward.  Those who engage in it with sincerity of purpose will see souls won to the Saviour, for the influence that attends the practical carrying out of the divine commission is irresistible. (The Acts of the Apostles, 109, 110)
 
Reflection:  Our prayer should be that we would love more.  As this becomes an action in our everyday lives, we will have more compassion towards others.  There will be a burning desire to reach every one that is not saved.  If faithful, in heaven we try to recall any hardships that we might have gone through, but we will only say, "Heaven was certainly cheap enough!"

  All Scripture is Profitable
 
        All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.  2 Timothy 3:16
 
    During the first twenty-five hundred years of human history, there was no written revelation.  Those who had been taught of God, communicated their knowledge to others, and it was handed down from father to son, through successive generations.  The preparation of the written word began in the time of Moses.  Inspired revelations were then embodied in an inspired book.  This work continued during the long period of sixteen hundred years--from Moses, the historian of creation, and the law, to John, the recorder of the most sublime truths of the gospel.
 
    The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human hands; and in the varied style if its different books it presents the characteristics of the several writers.  The truths revealed are all "given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16); yet they are expressed in the words of men.  The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the minds and hearts of His servants.  He has given dreams and visions, symbols and figures; and those to whom the truth was thus revealed have themselves embodied the thought in human language." (The Great Controversy, v)
 
Reflection:  The word "inspired" means "God-breathed."  What a God we serve that allows you and me to share the gospel in our own personality.

We are Stewards
 
        For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  1 Timothy 6:7
 
    The rich man had all that money could procure, but he did not possess the riches that would have kept his account right with God.  He had lived as if all that he possessed were his own.  He had neglected the call of God and the claims of the suffering poor.  But at length there comes a call which he cannot neglect.  By a power which he cannot question or resist he is commanded to quit the premises of which he is no longer steward.  The once-rich man is reduced to hopeless poverty.  The role of Christ's righteousness, woven in the loom of heaven, can never cover him.  He who once wore the richest purple, the finest linen, is reduced to nakedness.  His probation is ended.  He brought nothing into the world, and he can take nothing out of it.
 
    Christ lifted the curtain and presented this picture before priests and rulers, scribes and Pharisees.  Look at it, you who are rich in this world's goods and are not rich toward God.  Will you not contemplate this scene?  That which is highly esteemed among men is abhorrent in the sight of God.  Christ asks, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36, 37) (Christ's Object Lessons, 267)
 
Reflection:  There are many today who are unconverted.  They may take part in the church service, they may say they love God, but in their everyday lives they show how much they love the world.  Let us have an account that is right with God.

Shall Suffer Persecution
 
        Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.  2 Timothy 3:12
 
    So it will be with all who will live godly in Christ Jesus.  Persecution and reproach await all who are imbued with the Spirit of Christ.  The character of the persecution changes with the times, but the principle--the spirit that underlies it--is the same that has slain the chosen of the Lord ever since the days of Abel.
 
    In all ages Satan has persecuted the people of God.  He has tortured them and put them to death, but in dying they became conquerors.  They bore witness to the power of One mightier than Satan.  Wicked men may torture and kill the body, but they cannot touch the life that is hid with Christ in God.  They can incarcerate men and women in prison walls, but they cannot bind the spirit.
 
    Through trial and persecution the glory--the character--of God is revealed in His chosen ones.  The believers in Christ, hated and persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ.  On earth they walk in narrow paths; they are purified in the furnace of affliction. (The Acts of the Apostles, 576)
 
Reflection:  Why is it that many churches are having the opposite effect?  So many churches today seem to be more of an entertainment center.  When we take our stand and choose to glorify the Lord by living Godly lives, then make no mistake, we will suffer persecution.

Greatest Battle Ever Fought
 
        And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.  2 Timothy 2:26
 
    The whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change can never be wrought in us by which we are to be restored to His likeness.  By nature we are alienated from God.  The Holy Spirit describes our condition in such words as these: "Dead in trespass and sins;" "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;" "no soundness in it."  We are held fast in the snare of Satan, "taken captive by him at his will" (Ephesians 2:1; Isaiah 1:5, 6; 2 Timothy 2:26).  God desires to heal us, to set us free.  But since this requires an entire transformation, a removing of our whole nature, we must yield ourselves wholly to Him.
 
    The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought.  The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle; but the soul must submit to God before it can be renewed in holiness....
 
    God does not force the will of His creatures.  He cannot accept an homage that is not willingly and intelligently given.  A mere forced submission would prevent all real development of mind and character; it would make man a mere automaton.  Such is not the purpose of the Creator. (Steps to Christ, 43)
 
Reflection:  It takes a love, which we as sinful human beings don't have or get on our own, a heaven-born love that only wants voluntary submission, not forced, to serve a God like that.  This is what the Christian life is all about.  Let's serve Him better today than ever.