The Upper Room Ministry - Uganda

Life in God's Word, January 15
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Vital Power of the Word

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63.

Every seed has in itself a germinating principle. In it the life of the plant is enfolded. So there is life in God's Word. Christ says, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” ... In every command and in every promise of the Word of God is the power, the very life of God, by which the command may be fulfilled and the promise realized. He who by faith receives the Word is receiving the very life and character of God.59Christ's Object Lessons, 38.

By partaking of this Word our spiritual strength is increased; we grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth. Habits of self-control are formed and strengthened. The infirmities of childhood—fretfulness, willfulness, selfishness, hasty words, passionate acts—disappear, and in their place are developed the graces of Christian manhood and womanhood.60Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 207.

In its power, men and women have broken the chains of sinful habit. They have renounced selfishness. The profane have become reverent, the drunken sober, the profligate pure. Souls that have borne the likeness of Satan have been transformed into the image of God.61Education, 172.

Would you become assimilated to the divine image? ... Would you drink of the water which Christ shall give you, which shall be in you a well of water springing up into everlasting life? Would you bear fruit to the glory of God? Would you refresh others? Then with heart hungering for the bread of life, the Word of God, search the Scriptures, and live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Your soul's sanctification and righteousness will result from faith in the Word of God, which leads to obedience of its commands. Let the Word of God be to you as the voice of God instructing you, and saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” Isaiah 30:21. Christ prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17.62The Signs of the Times, September 5, 1895.
From The Faith I Live By - Page 21

As It Was in Noah's Day, December 1
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The Prophecies Are Fulfilling!

And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. Luke 17:26.

From age to age the warnings which God has sent to the world by His servants have been received with ... incredulity and unbelief. When the iniquity of the antediluvians moved Him to bring a flood of waters upon the earth, He first made known to them His purpose, that they might have opportunity to turn from their evil ways. For a hundred and twenty years was sounded in their ears the warning to repent, lest the wrath of God be manifested in their destruction. But the message seemed to them an idle tale, and they believed it not....

Scoffers pointed to the things of nature—to the unvarying succession of the seasons, to the blue skies that had never poured out rain, to the green fields refreshed by the soft dews of night—and they cried out, “Doth he not speak parables?” In contempt they declared the preacher of righteousness to be a wild enthusiast; and they went on, more eager in their pursuit of pleasure, more intent upon their evil ways, than ever before. But their unbelief did not hinder the predicted event....

Christ declares that there will exist similar unbelief concerning His second coming. As the people of Noah's day “knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so,” in the words of our Saviour, “shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:39.1The Great Controversy, 337, 338.

Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares,” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things....” 2The Desire of Ages, 636.

From The Faith I Live By - Page 341

“A Time of Trouble,” November 29
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Judgments on the Earth!

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. Daniel 12:1.

When the third angel's message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their work.... The final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received “the seal of the living God.” Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His hands, and with a loud voice says, “It is done.” ...

God's long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble.... The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress described by the prophet as the time of Jacob's trouble.88The Great Controversy, 613, 614, 616.

Those only who have clean hands and pure hearts will stand in that trying time. Now is the time for the law of God to be in our minds, foreheads, and written in our hearts.... What leisure time we have should be spent in searching the Bible, which is to judge us in the last day....

Let the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ be in your minds continually and let them crowd out worldly thoughts and cares. When you lie down and when you rise up, let them be your meditation. Live and act wholly in reference to the coming of the Son of man. The sealing time is very short, and will soon be over. Now is the time, while the four angels are holding the four winds, to make our calling and election sure.89Early Writings, 58.

From The Faith I Live By - Page 339

A blessed New Month

We may come to Jesus with all our weakness, our folly, our sinfulness, and fall at His feet in penitence.

The Eden Home, September 1
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The Home God Built
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:8.

That home [the home of our first parents], beautified by the hand of God Himself, was not a gorgeous palace. Men, in their pride, delight in magnificent and costly edifices, and glory in the works of their own hands; but God placed Adam in a garden. This was his dwelling. The blue heavens were its dome; the earth, with its delicate flowers and carpet of living green, was its floor; and the leafy branches of the goodly trees were its canopy. Its walls were hung with the most magnificent adornings—the handiwork of the great Master Artist.1Patriarchs and Prophets, 49.

It was the design of God that man should find happiness in the employment of tending the things He had created, and that his wants should be met with the fruits of the trees of the garden.2The Adventist Home, 27.

In the surroundings of the holy pair was a lesson for all time—that true happiness is found, not in the indulgence of pride and luxury, but in communion with God through His created works. If men would ... cultivate greater simplicity, they would come far nearer to answering the purpose of God in their creation.... What are the possessions of even the most wealthy, in comparison with the heritage given to the lordly Adam? 3Patriarchs and Prophets, 49, 50.

The Garden of Eden was a representation of what God desired the whole earth to become, and it was His purpose that, as the human family increased in numbers, they should establish other homes ... like the one He had given. Thus in course of time the whole earth might be occupied with homes and schools where the words and the works of God should be studied, and where the students should thus be fitted more and more fully to reflect, throughout endless ages, the light of the knowledge of His glory.4Education, 22.

From The Faith I Live By - Page 250

The Hand That Never Lets Go, August 31
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Looking Unto Jesus

For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13.

The sun shone brilliantly on the dazzling snow of one of the highest mountains of the Alps, as a traveler followed his guide along the narrow path.... He had confidence in his guide, and followed fearlessly in his footsteps, though the track was entirely new to him. Suddenly he hesitated; for the bold mountaineer stepped across a narrow but very deep chasm, and then, holding out his hand, asked ... [him] to take it, and step across. Still the traveler hesitated, but the guide encouraged him to obey, saying reassuringly, “Take my hand; that hand never lets go.”

Dear young friends, One greater than any human guide calls upon you to follow Him over the heights of patience and self-sacrifice. The path is not an easy one.... All the way along, Satan has prepared pitfalls for the feet of the unwary. But following our Guide, we may walk with perfect security; for the path is consecrated by His footsteps. It may be steep and rugged, but He has traveled it; His feet have pressed down the thorns to make the way easier for us. Every burden we are called upon to bear, He Himself has borne. Personal contact with Him brings light and hope and power. Of those who follow Him, He says, “They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:28.151The Youth's Instructor, May 1, 1902.

We are to live only one day at a time. We do not have to do the work of a lifetime in a few hours. We need not look into the future with anxiety; for God has made it possible for us to be overcomers every day.152The Review and Herald, March 26, 1889.

By the exercise of living faith today, we are to conquer the enemy. We must today seek God, and be determined that we will not rest satisfied without His presence. We should watch and work and pray as though this were the last day that would be granted us.153Testimonies for the Church 5:200.

If you are right with God today, you are ready if Christ should come today.154Manuscript 36, 1891.
From The Faith I Live By - Page 249

Friendship of Christ's Friends, August 16

In Contact With Others

I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. Psalm 119:63.

It is natural to seek companionship. Everyone will find companions or make them. And just in proportion to the strength of the friendship, will be the amount of influence which friends will exert over one another for good or for evil....

Young persons who are thrown into one another's society may make their association a blessing or a curse. They may edify, bless, and strengthen one another, improving in deportment, in disposition, in knowledge; or, by permitting themselves to become careless and unfaithful, they may exert only a demoralizing influence.73Testimonies for the Church 4:587, 655.

It is by leading the followers of Christ to associate with the ungodly and unite in their amusements, that Satan is most successful in alluring them into sin.... The followers of Christ are to separate themselves from sinners, choosing their society only when there is opportunity to do them good. We cannot be too decided in shunning the company of those who exert an influence to draw us away from God. While we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” we are to shun temptation, so far as possible.74Patriarchs and Prophets, 458, 459.

By the choice of evil companions many have been led step by step from the path of virtue into depths of disobedience and dissipation to which at one time they would have thought it impossible for them to sink.75Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 224.

We may refuse to be corrupted, and place ourselves where evil association shall not corrupt our hearts. Individually the youth should seek for association with those who are toiling upward with unfaltering steps.76Messages to Young People, 423.

Better than all the friendship of the world is the friendship of Christ's redeemed.77Christ's Object Lessons, 374.

The warmth of true friendship, the love that binds heart to heart, is a foretaste of the joys of heaven.78The Ministry of Healing, 360.
From The Faith I Live By - Page 234

*Jesus Our Perfect Pattern, August 1*
_The Faith I Live By_
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*Imitating Christ*

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. *1 John 2:6*.

We have before us the highest, holiest example. In thought, word, and deed Jesus was sinless. Perfection marked all that He did. He points us to the path that He trod, saying, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24.1The Review and Herald, April 26, 1906.

Christ unites in His person the fullness and perfection of the Godhead and the fullness and perfection of sinless humanity. He met all the temptations by which Adam was assailed, and overcame these temptations because in His humanity He relied upon divine power. This subject demands far more contemplation than it receives. Christians strike too low. They are content with a superficial spiritual experience, and therefore they have only the glimmerings of light, when they might discern more clearly the wonderful perfection of Christ's humanity, which rises far above all human greatness, all human power. Christ's life is a revelation of what fallen human beings may become through union and fellowship with the divine nature....

Men and women frame many excuses for their proneness to sin. Sin is represented as a necessity, an evil that cannot be overcome. But sin is not a necessity. Christ lived in this world from infancy to manhood, and during that time He met and resisted all the temptations by which man is beset. He is a perfect pattern of childhood, of youth, of manhood.2Manuscript 31, 1911.

The life of Christ has shown what humanity can do by being partaker of the divine nature. All that Christ received from God we too may have. Then ask and receive.... Let your life be knit by hidden links to the life of Jesus.3Christ's Object Lessons, 149.

*From The Faith I Live By - Page 219*

Never feel that Christ is far away. He is always near. His loving presence surrounds you.- MH 85

Established in the Present Truth, July 31
The Faith I Live By
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The Final End of Sin

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 2 Peter 1:12.

We believe without a doubt that Christ is soon coming. This is not a fable to us; it is a reality. We have no doubt, neither have we had a doubt for years, that the doctrines we hold today are present truth, and that we are nearing the judgment. We are preparing to meet Him who, escorted by a retinue of holy angels, is to appear in the clouds of heaven to give the faithful and the just the finishing touch of immortality. When He comes He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in our characters, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, this work will all be accomplished before that time.

When the Lord comes, those who are holy will be holy still. Those who have preserved their bodies and spirits in holiness, in sanctification and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and filthy will remain so forever. No work will then be done for them to remove their defects and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption.... It is now that this work is to be accomplished for us.87Testimonies for the Church 2:355.

God is now testing and proving His people. Character is being developed. Angels are weighing moral worth, and keeping a faithful record of all the acts of the children of men.... That God who reads the hearts of everyone, will bring to light hidden things of darkness where they are often least suspected, that stumbling blocks which have hindered the progress of truth may be removed.88Testimonies for the Church 1:332, 333.

There will be no future 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.89Christ's Object Lessons, 319.

From The Faith I Live By - Page 218

Our eternal welfare depends upon the use we make during this life of our time, strength, and influence. - CG 394

*Into the Holy Place, July 14*
_The Faith I Live By_
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*Christ in the True Temple*

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Hebrews 9:12.

In the spring of A.D. 31, Christ, the true Sacrifice, was offered on Calvary.28Prophets and Kings, 699.

When Christ on the cross cried out, “It is finished,” the veil of the temple was rent in twain. This veil was significant to the Jewish nation. It was of most costly material, of purple and gold, and was of great length and breadth. At the moment when Christ breathed His last, there were witnesses in the temple who beheld the strong, heavy material rent by unseen hands from top to bottom. This act signified to the heavenly universe, and to a world corrupted by sin, that a new and living way had been opened to the fallen race, that all sacrificial offerings terminated in the one great offering of the Son of God.29SDA Bible Commentary 5:1109.

Type ... met antitype in the death of God's Son.... The way into the holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all. No longer need sinful, sorrowing humanity await the coming of the high priest. Henceforth the Saviour was to officiate as priest and advocate in the heaven of heavens.... There is now an end to all sacrifices and offerings for sin. The Son of God is come according to His word, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” “By his own blood” He entereth “in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 10:7; 9:12.30The Desire of Ages, 757.

The Holy Spirit which descended on the day of Pentecost carried the minds of the disciples from the earthly sanctuary to the heavenly, where Jesus had entered by His own blood, to shed upon His disciples the benefits of His atonement.31Early Writings, 260.

The eyes of men were turned to the true sacrifice for the sins of the world. The earthly priesthood ceased; but we look to Jesus, the minister of the new covenant.32The Desire of Ages, 166.

The Elder Brother of our race is by the eternal throne.33The Signs of the Times, April 16, 1902.

From The Faith I Live By - Page 201

Join us this Thursday at 8pm EAT, for the lesson discussion, "Ephesians" as we study in depth 'The Power of the Exalted Jesus'.
Get a soft copy of the lesson study on; https://sabbath-school.adventech.io/en/2023-03/03/01

*Abundant Grace for Obedience, March 24*

*Faith and the Gospel*

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14.

It is the sophistry of Satan that the death of Christ brought in grace to take the place of the law. The death of Jesus did not change, or annul, or lessen in the slightest degree, the law of ten commandments. That precious grace offered to men through a Saviour's blood, establishes the law of God. Since the fall of man, God's moral government and His grace are inseparable. They go hand in hand through all dispensations. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10.101The Review and Herald, March 8, 1881.

Each law of God is an enactment of mercy, love, and saving power. These laws, obeyed, are our life, our salvation, our happiness, our peace.102SDA Bible Commentary 3:1153.

Obedience to His statutes and laws is the life and prosperity of His people.103SDA Bible Commentary 1:1120.

The influence of a gospel hope will not lead the sinner to look upon the salvation of Christ as a matter of free grace, while he continues to live in transgression of the law of God.... He will reform his ways, become loyal to God through the strength obtained from his Saviour, and lead a new and purer life.104Testimonies for the Church 4:294, 295.

As the sacrifice in our behalf was complete, so our restoration from the defilement of sin is to be complete. No act of wickedness will the law of God excuse; no unrighteousness can escape its condemnation. The ethics of the gospel acknowledge no standard but the perfection of the divine character. The life of Christ was a perfect fulfillment of every precept of the law. He said, “I have kept my Father's commandments.” John 15:10. His life is our example of obedience and service. God alone can renew the heart. “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” But we are bidden, “Work out your own salvation.” Philippians 2:13, 12.105The Ministry of Healing, 451, 452.

To the obedient child of God, the commandments are a delight.106SDA Bible Commentary 3:1152.

From The Faith I Live By - Page 89

Join us this Thursday at 8pm EAT, for the lesson study, "Managing for the Master Till He comes" as we study in depth 'Rewards of faithfulness'.
Get a soft copy of the lesson study on; https://sabbath-school.adventech.io/en/2023-01-12/01


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The Great Principle of the Law, March 21

The Contest Over God's Law

If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15.

The law was not spoken ... exclusively for the benefit of the Hebrews. God honored them by making them the guardians and keepers of His law, but it was to be held as a sacred trust for the whole world. The precepts of the Decalogue are adapted to all mankind, and they were given for the instruction and government of all. Ten precepts, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, cover the duty of man to God and to his fellow man; and all based upon the great fundamental principle of love. “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 10:27.83Patriarchs and Prophets, 305.

God's law is not a new thing. It is not holiness created, but holiness made known. It is a code of principles expressing mercy, goodness, and love. It presents to fallen humanity the character of God, and states plainly the whole duty of man.84SDA Bible Commentary 1:1104, 1105.

In the precepts of His holy law, God has given a perfect rule of life; and He has declared that until the close of time this law, unchanged in a single jot or tittle, is to maintain its claim upon human beings. Christ came to magnify the law and make it honorable.... In His own life He gave an example of obedience to the law of God. In the sermon on the mount He showed how its requirements extend beyond the outward acts, and take cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart.85The Acts of the Apostles, 505.

Today God gives men opportunity to show whether they love their neighbor. He who truly loves God and his fellow man is he who shows mercy to the destitute, the suffering, the wounded, those who are ready to die. God calls upon every man to take up his neglected work, to seek to restore the moral image of the Creator in humanity.86Welfare Ministry, 49.

The Ten Commandments, Thou shalt, and Thou shalt not, are ten promises, assured to us if we render obedience to the law governing the universe. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15.87SDA Bible Commentary 1:1105.

From The Faith I Live By - Page 86

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Ephesians 1:3.

*Man a Free Moral Agent, March 17*

The Contest Over God's Law

If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. John 7:17. FLB 82.1

Man was created a free moral agent. Like the inhabitants of all other worlds, he must be subjected to the test of obedience; but he is never brought into such a position that yielding to evil becomes a matter of necessity. No temptation or trial is permitted to come to him which he is unable to resist. God made such ample provision that man need never have been defeated in the conflict with Satan.65Patriarchs and Prophets, 331, 332. FLB 82.2

Satan is the great originator of sin; yet this does not excuse any man for sinning; for he cannot force men to do evil. He tempts them to it, and makes sin look enticing and pleasant; but he has to leave it to their own wills whether they will do it or not.... Man is a free moral agent to accept or refuse. FLB 82.3

Conversion is a work that most do not appreciate. It is not a small matter to transform an earthly, sin-loving mind and bring it to understand the unspeakable love of Christ, the charms of His grace, and the excellency of God, so that the soul shall be imbued with divine love.66Testimonies for the Church 2:294. FLB 82.4

Every provision has been made; everything in God's plan has been arranged so that man should not be left to his own impulses, to his own finite powers, to carry on the warfare against the powers of darkness in his own finite strength; because he would certainly fail if he were thus left to himself.67SDA Bible Commentary 6:1120. FLB 82.5

As a redeemed, free moral agent, ransomed by an infinite price, God calls upon you to assert your liberty, and employ your God-given powers as a free subject of the kingdom of heaven.... You are to refuse to be in subjection to the power of evil.68Messages to Young People, 29, 30. FLB 82.6

Let a solemn, unalterable purpose take possession of you, and resolve in the strength and grace of God, that henceforth you will live for Him, and that no earthly consideration shall persuade you to disown the divine law of ten commandments.69The Review and Herald, October 9, 1894. FLB 82.7

*Tampering With the Commandments, March 16*

The Contest Over God's Law

And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws. Daniel 7:25. FLB 81.1

Satan could not hinder the plan of salvation. Jesus was crucified, and arose again the third day. He [Satan] told his angels that he would make even the crucifixion and resurrection tell to his advantage. He was willing that those who professed faith in Jesus should believe that the laws regulating the Jewish sacrifices and offerings ceased at the death of Christ, if he could push them further, and make them believe that the law of ten commandments died also with Christ.... FLB 81.2

He [Satan] told his angels ... that the Ten Commandments were so plain that many would believe that they were still binding; therefore he must seek to corrupt the fourth commandment, which brings to view the living God. He led on his representatives to attempt to change the Sabbath, and alter the only commandment of the ten which brings to view the true God, the maker of the heavens and the earth. Satan presented before them the glorious resurrection of Jesus, and told them that by His rising on the first day of the week, He changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. Thus Satan used the resurrection to serve his purpose. He and his angels rejoiced that the errors they had prepared took so well with the professed friends of Christ.62Spiritual Gifts 1:109-111. FLB 81.3

Satan, working through unconsecrated leaders of the church, tampered with the fourth commandment ... and essayed to set aside the ancient Sabbath, the day which God had blessed and sanctified (Genesis 2:2, 3), and in its stead to exalt the festival observed by the heathen as “the venerable day of the sun.” 63The Great Controversy, 52. FLB 81.4

The Lord has clearly defined the road to the city of God; but the great apostate has changed the signpost, setting up a false one—a spurious sabbath.... The enemy of all good has turned the signpost round, so that it points to the path of disobedience as the path of happiness.... He has thought to change times and laws.64SDA Bible Commentary 4:1171, 1172. FLB 81.5