J - Quotes
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; & lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5-6
He does not forget us for one brief moment. 21MR 308
Satan may whisper, “You are too great a sinner for Christ to save.” While you acknowledge that you are indeed sinful & unworthy, you may meet the tempter with the cry, “By virtue of the atonement, I claim Christ as my Saviour.” “I trust not to my own merits, but to the precious blood of Jesus, which cleanses me. This moment I hang my helpless soul on Christ.” An unyielding trust, a firm reliance upon Christ, will bring peace & assurance to the soul. MYP 112
In all his dealings with his ancient people, the Lord sought to impress them with the idea that their strength was not in the wisdom of man, nor in his might, but in the God of their salvation. As Joshua, the leader of the children of Israel, went out alone before the taking of Jericho, to pray for God’s special presence, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the form of a mighty warrior; & to Joshua’s challenge he replied, “As captain of the host of the Lord am I now come... Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.” The Lord marshaled his armies about the doomed city; no human hand was raised against it; the hosts of heaven overthrew its walls, that God’s name alone might have the glory. It was that proud city whose mighty bulwarks had struck terror to the unbelieving spies. Now in the capture of Jericho, God declared to the Hebrews that their fathers might have possessed the city forty years before, had they but trusted in him. RH Mar. 15, 1887
Many pass long years in darkness & doubt because they do not feel as they desire. But feeling has nothing to do with faith. That faith which works by love & purifies the soul is not a matter of impulse. It ventures out upon the promises of God, firmly believing that what He has said, He is able also to perform. Our souls may be trained to believe, taught to rely upon the Word of God. That Word declares that “the just shall live by faith”, not by feeling. TMK 245
The measure of the Holy Spirit we receive will be proportionate to the measure of our desire, & the faith exercised for it, & the use we shall make of the light & knowledge that shall be given to us. 6MR 57
As we strive to represent Christ to the world we must exercise faith in Him. He says, “According to your faith be it unto you.” It was by faith that Enoch walked with God. Do not ask others to exercise faith in your behalf. You are yourself to obtain a daily experience in the things of God. You are yourself to realize the truth of the words, “All things are possible to him that believeth.” 16LtMs, Ms 11, 1901
Let not your faith weaken; for the blessings received are proportionate to the faith exercised. Take Him at His word. “He is faithful that promised.” Not one sincere supplication is lost. The channel is open, the stream is flowing. It carries with it healing properties, pouring forth a restoring current of health & life & salvation. 17LtMs, Lt 96, 1902
Grow in faith & trust & unshaken confidence in God. UL 44
Religion consists in doing the words of Christ; not doing to earn God’s favor, but because, all undeserving, we have received the gift of His love. Christ places the salvation of man, not upon profession merely, but upon faith that is made manifest in works of righteousness. Doing, not saying merely, is expected of the followers of Christ. It is through action that character is built. MB 149
Those who exercise true faith in Christ make it manifest by holiness of character, by obedience to the law of God. RH Sept. 17, 1895
There are both believers & unbelievers in the church. There is a wide difference between a pretended union & a real connection with Christ by faith. This spiritual relation can be established only by the exercise of personal faith. Our will must be wholly yielded to the divine will, our feelings, desires, interests, & honor identified with the prosperity of Christ's kingdom & the honor of His cause, we constantly receiving grace from Him, & Christ accepting gratitude from us. When this intimacy of connection & communion is formed, our sins are laid upon Christ; His righteousness is imputed to us. In the apostasy, man alienated himself from God. The separation is wide & fearful; but Christ has made provision again to connect us with Himself. The power of evil is so identified with human nature that no man can overcome except by union with Christ. Through this union we receive moral & spiritual power. To those who have united themselves to Him, He declares: “Though a mother may forget her child, ‘yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.’ Thou art continually before Me.” Skepticism & infidelity are widespread. Christ asked the question: “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We must cherish a living, active faith. The permanence of our faith is the condition of our union. A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; & the true believer chooses Christ as first & last & best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a union of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being. All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ. They must have a change of heart. They must submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward & internal obstacles. There must be a painful work of detachment as well as a work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness - sin in all its forms - must be overcome if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is that they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from these cherished idols. After the union with Christ has been formed, it can be preserved only by earnest prayer & untiring effort. We must resist, we must deny, we must conquer self. Through the grace of Christ, by courage, by faith, by watchfulness, we may gain the victory. 5T 228-231
Faith... enables us to look beyond the present, with its burdens & cares, to the great hereafter, where all that now perplexes us shall be made plain. Faith sees Jesus standing as our Mediator at the right hand of God. Faith beholds the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for those who love Him. Faith sees the robe & crown prepared for the overcomer, & hears the song of the redeemed. FLB 126
It is only by strong faith that a strong love for the Saviour can be kept alive in the heart. Our faith in Christ must be a pure, strong, genuine faith. There is a spurious faith, which leads only to confidence in self & to criticism of others. Such faith quenches every spark of Christlike love in the soul... 10MR 142
Think of Moses, - what endurance & patience characterized his life. Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, says, “For he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” The character that Paul thus ascribes to Moses does not mean simply passive resistance to evil, but perseverance in the right. He kept the Lord ever before him, & the Lord was ever at his right hand to help him. Moses had a deep sense of the personal presence of God. He was not only looking down through the ages for Christ to be made manifest in the flesh, but he saw Christ in a special manner accompanying the children of Israel in all their travels. God was real to him, ever present in his thoughts. When misunderstood, when called upon to face danger & to bear insult for Christ’s sake, he endured without retaliation. Moses believed in God as one whom he needed, & who would help him because of his need. God was to him a present help. Much of the faith which we see is merely nominal; the real, trusting, persevering faith is rare. Moses realized in his own experience the promise that God will be a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. He had respect unto the recompense of the reward. Here is another point in regard to faith which we wish to study: God will reward the man of faith & obedience. If this faith is brought into the life-experience, it will enable every one who fears & loves God to endure trials. Moses was full of confidence in God, because he had appropriating faith. He needed help, & he prayed for it, grasped it by faith, & wove into his experience the belief that God cared for him. He believed that God ruled his life in particular. He saw & acknowledged God in every detail of his life, & felt that he was under the eye of the All-seeing One, who weighs motives, who tries the heart. He looked to God, & trusted him for strength to carry him, uncorrupted, through every form of temptation. He knew that a special work had been assigned to him, & he desired, as far as possible, to make that work thoroughly successful. But he knew that he could not do this without divine aid... The presence of God was sufficient to carry him through the most trying situations... Moses did not merely think of God; he saw him. God was the constant vision before him; he never lost sight of his face. He saw Jesus as his Saviour, & he believed that the Saviour’s merits would be imputed to him. This faith was to Moses no guess-work; it was a reality. This is the kind of faith we need, - faith that will endure the test. Oh, how often we yield to temptation, because we do not keep our eye upon Jesus! Our faith is not continuous, because, through self-indulgence, we sin, & then we can not endure, as “seeing him who is invisible.” Make Christ your daily, hourly companion, & you will not complain that you have no faith. Contemplate Christ. View his character. Talk of him. The less you exalt self, the more you will see in Jesus to exalt. God has a work for you to do. Keep the Lord ever before you. Reach up higher & still higher for clearer views of the character of Christ. When Moses prayed, “I beseech thee, show me thy glory,” the Lord did not rebuke him, but he granted his prayer. God declared to his servant, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, & I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee.” We keep apart from God, & this is why we do not see the revealings of his power. 5T 651-652
The evil that led to Peter's fall... is proving the ruin of thousands today. There is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride & self-sufficiency. Of all sins it is the most hopeless, the most incurable. Peter's fall was not instantaneous, but gradual. Self-confidence led him to the belief that he was saved, & step after step was taken in the downward path, until he could deny his Master. Never can we safely put confidence in self or feel, this side of heaven, that we are secure against temptation. Those who accept the Saviour, however sincere their conversion, should never be taught to say or to feel that they are saved. This is misleading. Every one should be taught to cherish hope & faith; but even when we give ourselves to Christ & know that He accepts us, we are not beyond the reach of temptation. Only he who endures the trial will receive the crown of life. Those who accept Christ, & in their first confidence say, I am saved, are in danger of trusting to themselves. They lose sight of their own weakness & their constant need of divine strength. They are unprepared for Satan's devices, & under temptation many, like Peter, fall into the very depths of sin. We are admonished, “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” Our only safety is in constant distrust of self, & dependence on Christ. COL 154-155
There are many who profess Christ, but who never become mature Christians. They admit that man is fallen, that his faculties are weakened, that he is unfitted for moral achievement, but they say that Christ has borne all the burden, all the suffering, all the self-denial, & they are willing to let Him bear it. They say that there is nothing for them to do but to believe; but Christ said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, & take up his cross, & follow Me.” We are never to rest in a satisfied condition, & cease to make advancement, saying, “I am saved.” When this idea is entertained, the motives for watchfulness, for prayer, for earnest endeavor to press onward to higher attainments, cease to exist. No sanctified tongue will be found uttering these words till Christ shall come, & we enter in through the gates into the city of God. As long as man is full of weakness - for of himself he cannot save his soul - he should never dare to say, “I am saved.”... It is he that endureth unto the end that shall be saved. RH Jun. 17, 1890
We may take life’s controversies & troubles to his feet; for he loves us. His every word & look invite our confidence. RH Oct. 30, 1900
Christ must be blended with all our thoughts, our feelings, our affections. When, in the place of leaning upon human understanding or conforming to worldly maxims, we sit at the feet of Jesus, eagerly drinking in His words, learning of Him, & saying, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” 2MCP 782
If the eye is single, if it is directed heavenward, the light of heaven will fill the soul, & earthly things will appear insignificant & uninviting. You will lay up your treasure in heaven. Your thoughts will be fixed upon the great rewards of eternity. Bible religion will be woven into your daily life. CS 342
Every follower of Christ should earnestly inquire: “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” We need to humble ourselves before the Lord, with fasting & prayer, & to meditate much upon His Word, especially upon the scenes of the judgment. We should now seek a deep & living experience in the things of God. We have not a moment to lose. CSA 69
We should not drop eternity out of our reckoning, but accustom ourselves to ask continually, Will this course be pleasing to God? YI Feb. 2, 1893
God must be ever in our thoughts. We must hold converse with him while we walk by the way, & while our hands are engaged in labor. In all the purposes & pursuits of life, we must inquire, What will the Lord have me to do? How shall I please Him who has given his life a ransom for me? Thus may we walk with God, as did Enoch of old; & ours may be the testimony which he received, that he pleased God. RH May 30, 1882
The Christian must represent Jesus by both being good & doing good. Then there will be a fragrance about the life, a loveliness of character, which will reveal the fact that he is a child of God, an heir of heaven. Christ came not to save men in their sins, but from their sins. He has made it possible for us to possess a holy character; do not, then, be content with defects & deformities. But while we are to seek earnestly for perfection of character, we must remember that sanctification is not the work of a moment, but of a lifetime. Said Paul, “I die daily.” Day by day the work of overcoming must go forward. Every day we are to resist temptation, & gain the victory over selfishness in all its forms. HS 181
...we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18
God desires to restore His image in you. Believe that He is your Helper. Resolve to become acquainted with Him. As you draw nigh to Him with confession & repentance, He will draw nigh to you with mercy & forgiveness. HP 8
This earth is our school where we are to be proved & tried to see if we will become stewards of the grace of Christ... We must reveal that we are converted, born again, before we can see heaven. Christ, because He loves us, holds the standard high, & He will take our disposition, & make it like His own... UL 257
Now, if God works by His power, the hearts of all must feel it. This, then, is the way to reach the people, through God. 21MR 309
The greatest work that can be done in our world is to glorify God by living the character of Christ. 6T 439
Christ came to this world for no other purpose than to manifest the glory of God, that man might be uplifted by its restoring power. His heart was a well-spring of living water, a never-failing fountain, ever ready to flow forth in a rich, clear stream to those around him. His whole life was spent in pure, disinterested benevolence. His purposes were full of love & sympathy. He rejoiced that he could do more for his followers than they could ask or think. His constant prayer for them was that they might be sanctified through the truth, & he prayed with assurance, knowing that an almighty decree had been given before the world was made. He knew that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world; that truth, armed with the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, would conquer in the contest with evil; & that the blood-stained banner would one day wave triumphantly over his followers. RH May 11, 1897
People - sinful, blinded, wretched - may repent & be converted & day by day be forming a character like the character of Christ. Human beings may be reclaimed, regenerated, & may learn to live before the world precious, Christlike lives. RH Apr. 22, 1909
Each church member is to be a representative of the character & spirit of Christ. Christ should be constantly set forth as the fountain of life, mercy, & love... FH 321
The glory of heaven is in lifting up the fallen, comforting the distressed. COL 386
By beholding we are to become changed; & as we meditate upon the perfections of the divine Model, we shall desire to become wholly transformed, & renewed in the image of His purity. It is by faith in the Son of God that transformation takes place in the character, & the child of wrath becomes the child of God. He who places himself unreservedly under the guidance of the Spirit of God will find that his mind expands & develops. He obtains an education in the service of God which is not one-sided & deficient, developing a one-sided character, but one which results in symmetry & completeness. He is one with Christ, having soundness & strength of principle. RC 104
The follower of Jesus should be constantly improving in manners, in habits, in spirit, & labor. But this is done by keeping the eye, not on mere outward, superficial attainments, but on Jesus the model. A transformation takes place in mind, in spirit, in character. The Christian is educated in the school of Christ to cherish the graces of his Spirit in all meekness & lowliness of mind. He is fitting for the society of heavenly angels... CE 200
You are to keep talking of the light, of Jesus, the Sun of righteousness, until you shall change from glory to glory, from character to character, going on from strength to strength, & reflecting more & more of the precious image of Jesus. When you do this, the Lord will write in the books of heaven, “Well done,” because you represent Jesus. YRP 75
When men obtain a correct view of the unceasing mercy of God, they will be attracted, & by beholding will become changed into the same image. ST Sept. 12, 1895
We become changed into the image of that upon which we dwell. Then how important to open our hearts to the things that are true & lovely & of good report. RH Aug. 15, 1893
But let us keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, & He will preserve us. Looking unto Jesus, we are safe. Nothing can pluck us out of His hand. SC 72
Beholding Christ means studying His life as given in His Word... We are to fix our eyes upon Christ... By beholding we become changed, morally assimilated to the One who is perfect in character... The image of Christ is cherished, & it captivates the whole being. 6BC 1098
In Christ the character of the Father was made manifest, &, by contemplation of Christ, we may be changed into the same image. We are to represent Christ to the world as he represented the Father. By appropriating the righteousness of Christ, we represent not only the character of Christ, but also the character of the Father. We can have a knowledge of God only through a knowledge of Christ. Christ declared, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” ST May 18, 1891
If the heart has been renewed by the Spirit of God, the life will bear witness to the fact. While we cannot do anything to change our hearts or to bring ourselves into harmony with God; while we must not trust at all to ourselves or our good works, our lives will reveal whether the grace of God is dwelling within us. A change will be seen in the character, the habits, the pursuits. The contrast will be clear & decided between what they have been & what they are. The character is revealed, not by occasional good deeds & occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words & acts. It is true that there may be an outward correctness of deportment without the renewing power of Christ. The love of influence & the desire for the esteem of others may produce a well-ordered life. Self-respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may perform generous actions. By what means, then, shall we determine whose side we are on? Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections & our best energies? If we are Christ’s, our thoughts are with Him, & our sweetest thoughts are of Him. All we have & are is consecrated to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe His spirit, do His will, & please Him in all things. SC 57-58
We are called to represent to the world the character of God as it was revealed to Moses. In answer to the prayer of Moses, “Show me Thy glory,” the Lord promised, “I will make all My goodness pass before thee.” “And the Lord passed by before him, & proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful & gracious, long-suffering, & abundant in goodness & truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity & transgression & sin.” This is the fruit that God desires from His people. In the purity of their characters, in the holiness of their lives, in their mercy & loving-kindness & compassion, they are to demonstrate that “the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” 2TT 478
Everything that causes us to see the weakness of humanity is in the Lord’s purpose to help us to look to him, & in no case put our trust in man, or make flesh our arm. RH Aug. 15, 1893
No man can of himself understand his errors. “The heart is deceitful above all things, & desperately wicked; who can know it?” In one way only can a true knowledge of self be obtained. We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness. When we contemplate His purity & excellence, we shall see our own weakness & poverty & defects as they really are. We shall see ourselves lost & hopeless, clad in garments of self-righteousness, like every other sinner. We shall see that if we are ever saved, it will not be through our own goodness, but through God’s infinite grace. The prayer of the publican was heard because it showed dependence reaching forth to lay hold upon Omnipotence. Self to the publican appeared nothing but shame. Thus it must be seen by all who seek God. COL 159
Beholding Christ for the purpose of becoming like Him, the seeker after truth sees the perfection of the principles of God’s law, & he becomes dissatisfied with everything but perfection. Hiding his life in the life of Christ, he sees that the holiness of the divine law is revealed in the character of Christ, & more & more earnestly he strives to be like Him. A warfare may be expected at any time, for the tempter sees that he is losing one of his subjects. The human agent sees what he has to contend with – a strange power opposed to the idea of attaining the perfection that Christ holds out. But with Christ there is saving power that will gain for him victory in the conflict. The Saviour will strengthen & help him as he comes pleading for grace & efficiency. 6BC 1098
Those who receive the Saviour become sons of God. They are His spiritual children, born again, renewed in righteousness & true holiness. Their minds are changed. With clearer vision they behold eternal realities. They are adopted into God's family, & they become conformed to His likeness, changed by His Spirit from glory to glory. From cherishing supreme love for self, they come to cherish supreme love for God & for Christ. YRP 96
You are to bring Christ into your every thought & action. A defective link in a chain makes it worthless, & a defect in your character will unfit you to enter the kingdom of heaven. You must set everything in order. But you cannot do this great work without divine aid. Are you ready to accept the promises of God, & to make them your own by living faith in his immutable word? YRP 129
It is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, which Jesus said He would send into the world, that changes our character into the image of Christ; & when this is accomplished, we reflect, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord. That is, the character of the one who thus beholds Christ is so like His, that one looking at him sees Christ’s own character shining out as from a mirror. Imperceptibly to ourselves we are changed day by day from our own ways & will into the ways & will of Christ, into the loveliness of His character. Thus we grow up into Christ, & unconsciously reflect His image. 6BC 1097
By beholding the character of Christ you will become changed into His likeness. The grace of Christ alone can change your heart & then you will reflect the image of the Lord Jesus. God calls upon us to be like Him - pure, holy, & undefiled. We are to bear the divine image. YRP 81
The more we behold the character of Christ, the more lovable it appears; When we contemplate the love of Christ, when we behold him & become changed into his image, gratitude & thanksgiving spring up. RH Jun. 4, 1895
As I meditated on these things, I felt more & more deeply the sin of neglecting to keep the soul in the love of God. When Christ prayed, Father, keep them in Thy name, He did not mean that we should neglect to keep ourselves in the love & faith of God. Alive unto God, through a living union with Christ, we trust in the promises, constantly gaining greater strength by beholding Jesus. 2SM 236
We cannot even manufacture faith ourselves. “It is the gift of God” The whole of our salvation comes through the gift of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ. 9LtMs, Ms 18, 1894
The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, & your imperfections will be seen in broad & distinct contrast to His perfect nature. This is evidence that Satan’s delusions have lost their power; that the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God is arousing you. No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in the heart that does not realize its own sinfulness. The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ will admire His divine character; but if we do not see our own moral deformity, it is unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view of the beauty & excellence of Christ. The less we see to esteem in ourselves, the more we shall see to esteem in the infinite purity & loveliness of our Saviour. A view of our sinfulness drives us to Him who can pardon; & when the soul, realizing its helplessness, reaches out after Christ, He will reveal Himself in power. The more our sense of need drives us to Him & to the word of God, the more exalted views we shall have of His character, & the more fully we shall reflect His image. SC 64-65
Jesus, the world's Redeemer, knows all His children by name, & on those who believe shall come the glory of God... Those who behold Jesus become changed to His image, become assimilated to His nature, & the glory of God that shines in the face of Jesus, is reflected in the lives of His followers. More & more the Christian is changed from glory to glory... The more he looks on Christ, the more he loves & longs to look again, & the more light & love & glory he sees in Christ, the more his light increases... It is by faith that the spiritual eye beholds the glory of Jesus. This glory is hidden until the Lord imparts the light of spiritual truth, for the eye of reason cannot see it. The glory & mystery of Christ remains incomprehensible, clouded by its excessive brightness, until the Lord flashes its meaning before the soul... By faith the soul catches divine light from Jesus. We see matchless charms in His purity & humility, His self-denial, His wonderful sacrifice to save fallen man. Contemplation of Christ leads man to place a proper estimate upon himself... The possibility of being like Jesus, whom he loves & adores, inspires within him that faith which works by love & purifies the heart... Jesus is more precious to the soul that beholds Him by the eye of faith than is anything else beside, & the believing soul is more precious to Jesus than fine gold of Ophir. Christ looks upon His hands – the marks of the crucifixion are there - & He says, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” The Christian is walled in by the rich full promises of an infinite God. The Lord is coming with power & great glory. All who have made Christ their refuge will reflect His image, & they will be like Him, for they shall see Him as He is. TMK 61
What... wonderful love, was displayed by the Son of God... Christ takes the sinner from the lowest degradation, & purifies, refines, & ennobles him. By beholding Jesus as He is, the sinner is transformed & elevated to the very summit of dignity, even to a seat with Christ upon his throne... TMK 96