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Showing posts from July, 2020

Daily readings for 07/31/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 213 of 365 August Let the Holy Spirit Control, August 1 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22, 23 . The question of religious liberty needs to be clearly comprehended by our people in more ways than one. With outstretched arms men are seeking to steady the ark, and the anger of the Lord is kindled against them because they think that their position entitles them to say what the Lord's servants shall do and what they shall not do.... Moses was specially chosen to be the visible leader of the children of Israel. Through long years of discipline he learned the lesson of humility, and...

Daily readings for 07/30/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 212 of 365 I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, July 31 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. Psalm 121:1 . Dear Children, Edson and Emma: Here I am at Mr. Fair's, husband to your cousin, Addie Clough Fair, looking out and upward upon mountains of perpendicular rocks estimated at five hundred feet high.... Mr. Walling took us up, up, up the mountains. We feared sometimes that we should never reach the top. We had a commanding view of the country. We could look down upon Black Hawk and Central, and see all there was of both cities.... The mountain scenery of Colorado can never be described so that the imagination can gather distinct and correct ideas of this country. It is wonderfu...

Daily readings for 07/29/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 211 of 365 Love as Brethren, July 30 As touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 1 Thessalonians 4:9 . Truth, precious truth, is to sanctify, subdue, refine, elevate, and finally to exalt us to a seat at the right hand of the Majesty of heaven. Shall we grow feeble in spiritual power for want of exercise? Shall we go day after day without a marked and clear experience in the religious life because we permit our minds to be absorbed in worldly business? Here, my dear son [Edson], is your danger. Here are the wiles of Satan entangling you. The very powers or organs that you cultivate become strong, and you are imperceptibly placing you...

Daily readings for 07/28/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 210 of 365 Eating the Leaves of the Tree of Life, July 29 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:2 . Must we wait until we are translated before we eat of the leaves of the tree of life? He who receives into his heart the words of Christ knows what it means to eat the leaves of the tree of life.... The knowledge that comes from God is the bread of life. It is the leaves of the tree of life which are for the healing of the nations. The current of spiritual life thrills the soul as the words of Christ are be...

Daily readings for 07/27/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 209 of 365 Christ's Death Brings Life, July 28 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10 . Satan had declared to his synagogue that not a single human soul would maintain his loyalty to God's commandments. One soul saved would prove this statement to be false. One soul saved would demonstrate the righteousness of God's government. Created in the image of God, man must not be left for Satan to rule and ruin. Christ came to this earth, and by a life of obedience showed that man could obey. He canceled the guilt resting upon the sinner. That the sinner might stand before God clothed with His robe of righteousness,...

Daily readings for 07/26/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 208 of 365 Hope Thou in God, July 27 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. Psalm 42:5 . Dear Husband: I received your telegram.... Satan will not sift the chaff, because he gains nothing in this. He sifts the wheat. The devil will not try and tempt and persecute those whom he is sure of, because [they are] living in known transgression of the law of God. Those who have enlisted in the army of the Lord standing under the bloodstained banner of Prince Emmanuel, Satan will seek to harass and destroy. Christians will meet and have many and severe conflicts with the wily foe, who is merciless. He will br...

Daily readings for 07/25/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 207 of 365 Obedience Is the Price, July 26 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27 . The question which the lawyer put to Christ was one of vital consequence. The Pharisees who had prompted the lawyer to ask this question were expecting the Lord Jesus to answer it in such a way that they could find something against Him whereby they might accuse and condemn Him before the people. The self-possession of Christ, the wisdom and authority by which He spake, was something they could not interpret. When this question was asked by the lawyer, Christ knew that the suggestion came from His b...

Daily readings for 07/24/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 206 of 365 No Peace at Any Price, July 25 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34 . The peace that Christ calls His peace, and which He bequeathed to His disciples, is not a peace which prevents all divisions; but it is a peace which is given and enjoyed in the midst of divisions. The peace that the faithful defender of the cause of Christ has is the consciousness that he is doing the will of God and reflecting His glory in good works. It is an internal rather than an external peace. Without are wars and fightings through the opposition of avowed enemies, and the coldness and suspicion of those even who claim to be friends. Christ enjoins upon Hi...

Daily readings for 07/23/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 205 of 365 Forgiveness Full and Free, July 24 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. Psalm 130:4, 5 . There have been sins among us as among ancient Israel, but thank God we have had an open door which no man can shut. Men may say, “I forgive all the injuries you have done to me,” but their forgiveness would not blot out one sin. But the Voice sounding from Calvary—“My son, my daughter, thy sins be forgiven thee”—is all-efficacious. That word alone has power and awakens the gratitude in the grateful heart. We have a Mediator. There is but one channel of forgiveness and that channel i...

Daily readings for 07/22/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 204 of 365 Christian Perfection, July 23 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Jude 1:24 . There is a real work to be wrought in us. Constantly we must submit our will to God's will, our way to God's way. Our peculiar ideas will strive constantly for the supremacy, but we must make God all and in all. We are not free from the failings of humanity, but we must constantly strive to be free from these failings, not to be perfect in our own eyes, but perfect in every good work. We must not dwell on the dark side. Our souls must not rest in self, but in the One who is all and in all. By beholding as in a gla...

Daily readings for 07/21/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 203 of 365 Christ Is Our Pattern, July 22 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12 . To follow Christ is not freedom from conflict. It is not child's play. It is not spiritual idleness. All the enjoyment in Christ's service means sacred obligations in meeting oft stern conflicts. To follow Christ means stern battles, active labor, warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Our enjoyment is the victories gained for Christ in earnest, hard warfare. Think of this. “We are labourers together with God” ( 1 Corinthians 3:9 ). Christ engaged in the great work fo...

Daily readings for 07/20/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 202 of 365 Judge Not, July 21 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:2 . Last night I was in a sleepless state much of the time. Many representations passed before me. One was a scene in a council meeting where several were present. One man arose and began finding fault with one of his brethren. I looked at the speaker's garments, and saw that they were very undesirable. Another person arose, and began to state his grievance against a fellow laborer. His garments were of another pattern, and they, too, were undesirable. Still another, and another, arose, and uttered words of accusation and condemnation regarding t...

Daily readings for 07/19/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 201 of 365 Thy Word Is a Lamp, July 20 Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:3 . The Old Testament Scriptures were the lesson book of Israel. When the lawyer came to Christ with the question “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ... the Saviour said, “What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself....

Daily readings for 07/18/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 200 of 365 Christ's Minutemen, July 19 If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24 . The natural appetites and inclinations crave earthly pleasures. But those who love Jesus will bring these appetites and inclinations into harmony with His will. They have chosen to be on the Lord's side, and their lives are to stand out in vivid contrast to the self-seeking of worldlings. The tempter will come to them with his blandishments and bribes, saying, “All this will I give thee if thou wilt worship me.” But they know that he has nothing worth receiving, and they refuse to yield to his temptations. Through the grace of God, they are e...

Daily readings for 07/17/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 199 of 365 Bring God's Word Unto the Very Life, July 18 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. John 6:53 . The Lord Jesus is your Redeemer. Will you not appreciate the great sacrifice He has made for you? No one has any justification for departing from Bible principles.... He who is sensitive to the admonitions of the Lord will work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who is working in him, to will and to do of His good pleasure. The truth of God, abiding in the heart, brings the principles of the law of God into daily practice. The man who consents to be deceived is the man in whose hea...

Daily readings for 07/16/2020: The Upward Look

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The Upward Look — Day 198 of 365 Our Merciful God, July 17 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:1, 2 . I would call your attention to the precious promises in the Word of God. All who are children of God have not the same powers, the same temperaments, the same confidence and boldness. I am glad indeed that our feelings are no evidence that we are not children of God. The enemy will tempt you to think that you have done things that have separated you from God, and that He no longer loves you, but our Lord loves us still, and we may know by the words He has placed on record for just such cases as yours. “If any man sin,...