Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

December 21, 2020

12/21/2020

THE VOICE THAT SHAKES THE EARTH

        There were noises and thunderings and lightenings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.--Revelation 16:18

    It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people. The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. The streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God like the sound of many waters, saying, "It is done." Revelation 16:17.

    That voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a mighty earthquake, "such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." Verses 17, 18. The firmament appears to open and shut. The glory from the throne of God seems flashing through. The mountains shake like a reed in the wind, and ragged rocks are scattered on every side. There is a roar as of a coming tempest. The sea is lashed into fury. There is heard the shriek of a hurricane like the voice of demons upon a mission of destruction. (The Great Controversy, 636-637)

    As lightenings from heaven unite with the fire in the earth, the mountains will burn like a furnace, and will pour forth terrific streams of lava, overwhelming gardens and fields, villages and cities. Seething molten masses thrown into the rivers will cause the waters to boil, sending forth massive rocks with indescribable violence and scattering their broken fragments upon the land. Rivers will be dried up. The earth will be convulsed; everywhere there will be dreadful earthquakes and eruptions.

    Thus God will destroy the wicked from off the earth. But the righteous will be preserved in the midst of these commotions, as Noah was preserved in the ark. (Patriarchs and Prophets, 110)

REFLECTION: Fierce lightenings envelop the earth in a sheet of flame. Above the thunder, voices, mysterious and awful, declare the doom of the wicked. Those who were boastful and defiant, cruel to God's commandment-keeping people, now shudder in fear. Demons tremble while men are supplicating for mercy. (From Here to Forever, 386)

December 20, 2020

12/20/2020

IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT

        There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.--Proverbs 14:12

    Will any body of men bring upon themselves the displeasure of the Lord by framing a law for the observance of a spurious Sabbath and then compelling obedience to this law? Will they insult God by profaning His holy day and assuming authority, as gods, to exalt the first day of the week to be observed by all?

    How can men set aside the true Sabbath when they know that God came to our world and from Sinai's mount, in awful grandeur, proclaimed His law to be observed in commemoration of the day He had ordained as a day of rest--a day ever to be kept as a memorial of God as the Creator of the heavens and of the earth?...The Lord has given to men the day that He has chosen to be observed by all the world and regarded as a sacred rest day.

    Whoever of the human family will dare to defy the Lord God will pay the penalty by meeting the great Law-giver over His broken law. The Word has gone forth. It is not the Word of a human power, but of Almighty Authority, of a living and true God. Will man dare trifle with the sacred law of Jehovah and place in its stead a common work day that marks the beginning of the week for the transaction of ordinary business? Who will venture to meet Jehovah over His broken law?...

    How can men dare assume the authority of Jehovah, and represent themselves as God, to change times and laws?

    I call the attention of thinking men to these things. Dare you continue to take human enactment that bears not the stamp of divine approval and place it before the people as something to respect and honor? Will you substitute a counterfeit in place of the true and genuine? Will you thus meet God over His broken law and stand with threats of persecution and severe punishment against the people whom you regard as criminals because they choose to obey the law of Jehovah in place of a spurious Sabbath that man has created? (Letter 154, May 12, 1906)

REFLECTION: In deciding upon any course of action we are not to ask whether we can see that harm will result from it, but whether it is in keeping with the will of God. (Patriarchs and Prophets, 634)

December 19, 2020

12/19/2020

READY OR NOT

        Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.--Matthew 24:44

    As we near the close of this earth's history, we shall have the scenes of the San Francisco calamity repeated in other places;...The period of time in which we are living is a very solemn one.

    These things make me feel very solemn, because I know that the judgment day is right upon us. The judgments that have already come are a warning, but not the finishing, of the punishment that will come on wicked cities. Our cities are most terrible places, wherein are practiced all kinds of sin and iniquity of the most revolting character. The Lord's name is greatly dishonored....

    In the night season I have had many presentations of the judgments of God coming upon our cities; and now I can understand better the real meaning of these scenes that I have witnessed....

    These scenes will soon be witnessed, just as they are clearly described. I present these wonderful statements from the Scriptures for the consideration of every one. The prophecies recorded in the Old Testament, are the word of the Lord for the last days and will be fulfilled as surely as we have seen the desolation of San Francisco. (Letter 154, May 26, 1906)

    There will be no second probation in which to prepare for eternity. It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ's righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments. (The Signs of the Times, November 22, 1905)

REFLECTION: Many Christians who say they believe that Christ is coming keep putting off developing a relationship with Him, thinking as if He will never really come. But He is coming soon whether we are ready or not. Take Jesus' counsel seriously and get ready.

December 18, 2020

12/18/2020

CONVEY GOD'S WORDS OF WARNING

        Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.--Amos 3:7

    An immense ball of fire came down upon the world and crushed large house. From place to place rose the cry, "The Lord has come! The Lord has come!" Many were unprepared to meet Him, but a few were saying, "Praise the Lord!"

    "Why are you praising the Lord?" inquired those upon whom was coming sudden destruction.

    "Because we now see what we have been looking for."

    "If you believe that these things were coming, why did you not tell us?" was the terrible response. "We did not know about these things. Why did you leave us in ignorance? Again and again you have seen us; why did you not become acquainted with us and tell us of the judgment to come, and that we must serve God, lest we perish? Now we are lost!"...

    May God help us to stand, like Daniel, in our lot and place during the days of probation that remain. Parents, teach your children regarding the things that are coming upon the earth, and lead them to prepare to meet their Lord in peace. (Manuscript 102, July 2, 1904)

    A very impressive scene passed before me. I saw an immense ball of fire fall into the midst of some beautiful mansions, causing their instant destruction. I heard some say, "We knew that the judgments of God were coming upon the earth, but we did not know they would come so soon." Others said, "You knew! Why then did you not tell us? We did not know." On every side I heard such words spoken. (Letter 217, July 3, 1904)

REFLECTION: Christians have been blessed by God. Light given us through His prophets has been given so that we can share it with others. Give them an opportunity to turn their hearts over to Jesus and live for Him so that they may be saved.

December 17, 2020

12/17/2020

IGNORE GOD'S WARNING--LOSE YOUR LIFE

        My 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

    At any moment God can withdraw from the impenitent the tokens of His wonderful mercy and love. Oh, that human agencies might consider what will be the sure result of their gratitude to Him and of their disregard of the infinite gift of Christ to our world! If they continue to love transgression more than obedience, the present blessings and the great mercy of God that they now enjoy, but do not appreciate, will finally become the occasion of their eternal ruin.

    They may for a time choose to engage in worldly amusements and sinful pleasures, rather than to check themselves in their course of sin, and live for God and for the honor of the Majesty of heaven; but when it is too late for them to see and to understand that which they have slighted as a thing of naught, they will know what it means to be without God, without hope.

    Then they will sense what they have lost by choosing to be disloyal to God and to stand in rebellion against His commandments. In the past they defied His power and rejected His overtures of mercy; finally His judgments will fall upon them. Then they will realize that they have lost happiness--life, eternal life, in the heavenly courts. Surely they will say, "Our life was full of madness against God, and now we are lost!" (Manuscript 151, 1901)

    Shall the warnings from God be passed by unheeded? Shall the opportunities for service be unimproved? Shall the world's scorn, the pride of reason, conformity to human customs and traditions, hold the professed followers of Christ from service to Him? Will they reject God's word as the Jewish leaders rejected Christ? The result of Israel's sin is before us. Will the church of today take warning? (Christ Object Lessons, 306)

REFLECTION: We as Christians should be taking advantage of every minute that God is giving us. In the days of Noah the people were given 120 years. Yet most were swept away when the floods came. It didn't have to be that way; all they had to do was heed God's message. As God's children in these last days, we have an opportunity to listen and live.

December 16, 2020

12/16/2020

TO WHOM DO YOU GIVE YOUR SOUL? GOD OR MAN

        Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men."--Acts 5:29

    Men have insulted God by accepting as holy a common working day. Nothing can put the stamp of the man of sin so definitely upon the world as the acceptance of the spurious sabbath, while the day God has set apart is trampled under foot.

    With His own finger God wrote His commandments on two tables of stone. These tables were not left in the keeping of men, but were placed in the ark; and in the great day when every case is decided, these tables, inscribed with the commandments, will be placed so that all the world will see and understand. The witness against them will be unanswerable. And upon those, who have taking upon them the work of shepherds of the flock, will be visited the heaviest judgments, because they have presented to the people fables instead of truth. Children will rise up and curse their parents.

    Church members, who have seen the light and been convicted, but who have trusted the salvation of their souls to the minister, will learn in the day of God that no other soul can pay the ransom for their transgression. A terrible cry will be raised, "I am lost, eternally lost." Men will feel as though they could rend in pieces the ministers who have preached falsehoods and condemned the truth.

    The pure truth for this time requires a reformation in the life, but they separate themselves from the love of the truth, and of them it can be said, "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself." The Lord sends a message to the people: "Set a trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my law." [Hosea 13:9; 8:1.] (Letter 30, February 25, 1900)

REFLECTION: God wrote the commandments with His own finger, and out of His love, He told us to obey them. Today many ministers and church leaders are claiming that the commandments are no longer valid. Should we obey what is written in stone? Or should we go with what the majority does?

December 15, 2020

12/15/2020

ANGELS AMONG US

        No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.--Psalm 91:10-11

    None of finite judgment and foresight can have any power to conceive of the care God has exercised through His angels over the children of men in their travels, in their own houses, in their eating and drinking. Wherever they are, His eye is upon them. They are preserved from a thousand dangers, all to them unseen. Satan has laid snares, but the Lord is constantly at work to save His people from them.

    But [from] those who have no sense of the goodness and mercy of God, who refuse His merciful warnings, who reject His councils to reach the highest standard of Bible requirements, who do despite to the Spirit of grace, the Lord would remove His protecting power. I was shown that Satan would entangle and then destroy if he could, the souls he had tempted. God will bear long, but there is a bound to His mercy, a line which marks His mercy and His justice....

    It is Satan's power that is at work at sea and on land bringing calamity and distress, sweeping off multitudes to make sure of his prey. Storm and tempest both by sea and land will be, for Satan has come down in great wrath. He is at work. He knows his time is short, and if he is not restrained we shall see more terrible manifestations of his power than we have ever dreamed of. (Letter 14, August 8, 1883)

    When the earthborn children know it not, they have the angels of light as their companions, for they are heavenly messengers sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. A silent witness guards every soul that lives, seeking to win and draw him to Christ. The angels never leave the tempted one a prey to the enemy who would destroy the souls of men if permitted to do so. As long as there is hope, until they resist the Holy Spirit to their eternal ruin, men are guarded by heavenly intelligences. (Manuscript 52, 1896)

REFLECTION: Imagine, God sending angels to protect us in all we do. Satan may go around as a roaring lion, but we will be left alone. Our heavenly Father knows exactly what we need before we even ask.

December 14, 2020

12/14/2020

WALK IN THE LIGHT

        Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.--Psalm 119:105

    God has given us his Word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Its teachings have a vital bearing on our prosperity in all the relations of life. Even in our temporal affairs it will be a wiser guide than any other counselor. Its divine instruction is the only way to success. There is no social position, no phase of human experience, for which the study of the Bible is not an essential preparation.

    The Bible is the great standard of right and wrong, clearly defining sin and holiness. Its living principles, running through our lives like threads of gold, are our only safeguard in trial and temptation.

    The Bible is a chart, showing us the waymarks of truth. Those who are acquainted with this chart will be enabled to tread with certainty in the path of duty, wherever they may be called to go.

    The Bible contains a simple and complete system of theology and philosophy. It is the book that makes us wise unto salvation. It tells us how to reach the abode of eternal happiness. It tells us of the love of God as shown in the plan of redemption, imparting the knowledge essential for all,--the knowledge of Christ. He is the Sent of God; he is the Author of our salvation. But apart from the Word of God, we could have no knowledge that such a person as the Lord Jesus ever visited our world, nor any knowledge of his divinity, as indicated by his previous existence with the Father. (The Review and Herald, June 11, 1908)

REFLECTION: The story is told of two children who decided to stare at the sun. They damaged their eyes but the doctor was able to correct most of the damage. After the doctor did all he could for the children, he gave them sound advice, "Light is to walk through, not stare at." God's light is His Word. It is to walk through, not stare at.

December 13, 2020

12/13/2020

LEARN FROM THE PAST

        Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when You are judged."--Romans 3:4

    Who will say God will not do what He says He will do? Let God be true and every man a liar. The Lord is coming in flaming fire to take vengeance on those sinners who know not God and obey not His gospel. And because, in His infinite mercy, He delays His coming to give the world a larger span of repentance, sinners flatter themselves He will never come.

    In the public press, in the haunts of sin, as well as in the schools of science so-called, there is one sentiment. They curl the lips with scorn and jest and ridicule at the warnings given them and look upon the thousands who wait and look for His appearing and with fear, like Noah, prepare for the event. This is not new, but as old as sin. It is as false as the father of lies.

    When ministers, farmers, merchants, lawyers, great men, and professedly good men shall cry, Peace and safety, sudden destruction cometh. [1 Thessalonians 5:3.] Luke reports the words of Christ, that the day of God comes as a snare--the figure of an animal prowling in the woods for prey--and lo, suddenly he is entrapped in the concealed snare of the fowler. [Chapter 21:35.] (Manuscript 5, 1876)

    By living faith grasp the arm of infinite power, and hold fast. You are where you need wisdom, and Jesus will give it. Do not be unbelieving. Jesus is true. Let God be true, but every man a liar if need be. The more you are jostled, misapprehended, misstated, falsified, the more evidence you have that you are doing the work of the Master, and the more closely you must cling to your Saviour. (Letter 8, July 17, 1886)

REFLECTION: Weave Jesus into your daily experience, and rest in Him. His power as a helper you need, and you have it. Go forward firmly, valiantly, courageously. You may err in judgment, but do not lose your hold on Jesus. He is wisdom, He is light, He is power. He is to you as a great Rock in a weary land. Rest under His shadow. (Letter 8, July 17, 1886)

December 12, 2020

12/12/2020

FORBEARANCE

        Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?--Romans 2:4

    God's goodness and long forbearance, His patience and mercy exercised to His subjects, will not hinder Him from punishing the sinner who refused to be obedient to His requirements. It is not for man--a criminal against God's holy law, pardoned only through the great sacrifice He made in giving His Son to die for the guilty because His law was changeless--to dictate to God. After all this effort on the part of God to preserve the sacred and exalted character of His law, if men, through the sophistry of the devil, turn the mercy and condescension of God into a curse, they must suffer the penalty. Because Christ died they consider they have liberty to transgress God's holy law that condemns the transgressor and would complain of its strictness and its penalty as severe and unlike God. They are uttering the words Satan utters to millions, to quiet their conscience in rebellion against God.

    In no kingdom or government is it left to the lawbreakers to say what punishment is to be executed against those who have broken the law. All we have, all the bounties of His grace which we possess, we owe to God. The aggravating character of sin against such a God cannot be estimated any more than the heavens can be measured with a span. God is a moral governor as well as a Father. He is the Lawgiver. He makes and executes His laws. Law that has no penalty is of no force.

    The plea may be made that a loving Father would not see His children suffering the punishment of God by fire, while He had the power to relieve them. But God would, for the good of His subjects and for their safety, punish the transgressor. God does not work on the plan of man. He can do infinite justice that man has no right to do before his fellow man. (Manuscript 5, 1876)

REFLECTION: Forbearance is "refraining from the enforcement of something." When the Bible describes God as forbearing, it means He is patient and loving. He forbears so we can repent. What a beautiful word to describe God! The wages of sin is death, but God forbears or delays the enforcement so we can be drawn to Him.