TRIAL BY FIRE
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.--Revelation 3:20
The worthies who refused to bow to the golden image were cast into a burning fiery furnace, but Christ was with them there, and the fire did not consume them....
Now some of us may be brought to just as severe a test. Will we obey the commandments of men, or will we obey the commandments of God? This is a question that will be asked of many. The best thing for us is to come into close connection with God; and if He would have us martyrs for the truth's sake, it may be the means of bringing many more into the truth....
Many whom we try to reach with the truth of God will not accept it, and why? Because it involves a cross....
Now we take His character and life. The Saviour of the world who came to make us better, to give us strength to overcome everything that is unlike Christ--that precious Saviour is leading us, and we can follow where He leads. It is a path of sacrifice, but what if it is? That is just what we need, because we are all full of self, all full of defects and errors and sin; and we want to separate from our own inclinations and self-indulgence and go where Jesus leads the way....
We have been piling up the rubbish before the door of our hearts, and this must all be cleared away. Christ cannot enter there until we do. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock," He says. [Revelation 3:20.] Clear away the barriers that have been piled up around the heart. He wants you to clear them away, and He will come in. (Manuscript 83, September 1886)
REFLECTION: Circumstances may separate friends; the restless waters of the wide sea may roll between us and them. But no circumstance, no distance, can separate us from the Saviour. Wherever we may be, He is at our right hand, to support, maintain, uphold, and cheer. Greater than the love of a mother for her child is Christ's love for His redeemed. It is our privilege to rest in His love, to say, "I will trust Him; for He gave His life for me." (The Ministry of Healing, 72)
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.--Revelation 3:20
The worthies who refused to bow to the golden image were cast into a burning fiery furnace, but Christ was with them there, and the fire did not consume them....
Now some of us may be brought to just as severe a test. Will we obey the commandments of men, or will we obey the commandments of God? This is a question that will be asked of many. The best thing for us is to come into close connection with God; and if He would have us martyrs for the truth's sake, it may be the means of bringing many more into the truth....
Many whom we try to reach with the truth of God will not accept it, and why? Because it involves a cross....
Now we take His character and life. The Saviour of the world who came to make us better, to give us strength to overcome everything that is unlike Christ--that precious Saviour is leading us, and we can follow where He leads. It is a path of sacrifice, but what if it is? That is just what we need, because we are all full of self, all full of defects and errors and sin; and we want to separate from our own inclinations and self-indulgence and go where Jesus leads the way....
We have been piling up the rubbish before the door of our hearts, and this must all be cleared away. Christ cannot enter there until we do. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock," He says. [Revelation 3:20.] Clear away the barriers that have been piled up around the heart. He wants you to clear them away, and He will come in. (Manuscript 83, September 1886)
REFLECTION: Circumstances may separate friends; the restless waters of the wide sea may roll between us and them. But no circumstance, no distance, can separate us from the Saviour. Wherever we may be, He is at our right hand, to support, maintain, uphold, and cheer. Greater than the love of a mother for her child is Christ's love for His redeemed. It is our privilege to rest in His love, to say, "I will trust Him; for He gave His life for me." (The Ministry of Healing, 72)
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