Conflict & Courage

Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Matthew 8:10.  {CC 296.1}        The centurion did not question the Saviour's power. . . . He had not seen the Saviour, but the reports he heard had inspired him with faith. . . . In the teaching of Christ, as it had been reported to him, he found that which met the need of the soul. All that was spiritual within him respon...

Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. John 4:48.  {CC 295.1}        Like a flash of light, the Saviour's words to the nobleman laid bare his heart. He saw that his motives in seeking Jesus were selfish. His vacillating faith appeared to him in its true character. In deep distress he realized that his doubt might cost the life of his son. He knew that he wa...

Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14.  {CC 294.1}        When Jesus sat down to rest at Jacob's well, He had come from Judea, where His ministry had produced little fruit. . . . He was faint and weary; yet He did not neglect the opportunity of speak...

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:21.  {CC 293.1}        Nicodemus had come to the Lord thinking to enter into a discussion with Him, but Jesus laid bare the foundation principles of truth. He said to Nicodemus, It is not theoretical knowledge you need so much as spiritual regeneration. You need not to have your c...

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:5.  {CC 292.1}        Nicodemus was astonished as well as indignant at these words. He regarded himself as not only an intellectual, but a pious and religious man. . . . He could not harmonize this doctrine of conversion with his understanding of what co...

He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5, R.S.V.  {CC 291.1}        Nicodemus held a high position of trust in the Jewish nation. He was highly educated, and possessed talents of no ordinary character, and he was an honored member of the national council. With others, he h...

Straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. Matthew 14:27.  {CC 290.1}        They [the disciples] "entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum." They had left Jesus with dissatisfied hearts. . . . They murmured because they had not been permitted to proclaim Him king. They blamed themselves for yielding so readily to His command. . . .  {CC...

This priceless treasure we hold, so to speak, in a common earthenware jar--to show that the splendid power of it belongs to God and not to us. 2 Corinthians 4:7, Phillips.  {CC 289.1}       All the disciples had serious faults when Jesus called them to His service. Even John, who came into closest association with the meek and lowly One, was not himself naturally meek and yielding. He and his brot...

And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach. Mark 3:14.  {CC 288.1}        In these first disciples was presented a marked diversity. They were to be the world's teachers, and they represented widely varied types of character. There were Levi Matthew the publican, called from a life of business activity, and subservience to Rome; the zealot Sim...

Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Matthew 20:26, 27.  {CC 287.1}        With Judas an element of antagonism was introduced among the disciples. . . . That which ruled him was the hope of selfish benefit in the worldly kingdom which he expected Christ to establish. Though recognizing the divine power of the l...

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10.  {CC 286.1}        How tenderly the Saviour dealt with him who was to be His betrayer! In His teaching, Jesus dwelt upon principles of benevolence that struck at the very root of covetousness. He presented before Judas the...

But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. John 6:64.  {CC 285.1}        While Jesus was preparing the disciples for their ordination, one who had not been summoned urged his presence among them. It was Judas Iscariot, a man who professed to be a follower of Christ. . . . Judas believed Jesus to be the M...

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6.  {CC 284.1}        The calling of Matthew to be one of Christ's disciples excited great indignation. For a religious teacher to choose a publican as one of his immediate attendants was an offense against the religious, social, and national customs.  {CC 284.2}        In his grateful humility, Mat...

And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom; and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. Luke 5:27, 28.  {CC 283.1}        Of the Roman officials in Palestine, none were more hated than the publicans. The fact that the taxes were imposed by a foreign power was a continual irritation to the Jews, being a rem...

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. Mark 1:17, 18.  {CC 282.1}        They were humble and unlearned men, those fishers of Galilee; but Christ, the light of the world, was abundantly able to qualify them for the position for which He had chosen them. The Saviour did not despise educatio...

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he said, "Here is an Israelite worthy of the name: there is nothing false in him." John 1:47, N.E.B.  {CC 281.1}        Nathanael heard John as he pointed to the Saviour and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)! Nathanael looked at Jesus, but he was disappointed in the appearance of the world's Redeemer. Could He who bo...

Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. John 1:45.  {CC 280.1}        Philip called Nathanael. . . . If Nathanael had trusted to the rabbis for guidance, he would never have found Jesus. It was by seeing and judging for himself that he became a disciple. So in the case of many toda...

John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there. John 10:41, 42.  {CC 279.1}        In the announcement to Zacharias before the birth of John, the angel had declared, "He shall be great in the sight of the Lord" (Luke 1:15). In the estimation of Heaven, what is it that constitutes greatness? Not that which the world accounts greatness; not...

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28.  {CC 278.1}        To many minds a deep mystery surrounds the fate of John the Baptist. They question why he should have been left to languish and die in prison. The mystery of this dark providence our human vision cannot penetrate; but i...

For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Philippians 1:29.  {CC 277.1}        John the Baptist had been first in heralding Christ's kingdom, and he was also first in suffering. . . . He was now shut in by the walls of a dungeon cell. . . . As week after week passed, bringing no change, despondency and doubt crept over him. His d...

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11:11.  {CC 276.1}        What was it that made John the Baptist great? He closed his mind to the mass of tradition presented by the teachers of the Jewish nation, and opened it to the wisdom which comes...

That is why my happiness is now complete. He must grow greater and greater and I less and less. John 3:29, 30, Phillips.  {CC 275.1}        In every stage of this earth's history God has had His agencies to carry forward His work. . . . John the Baptist had a special work, for which he was born and to which he was appointed--the work of preparing the way of the Lord.  {CC 275.2}        When, after...

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29.  {CC 274.1}        For a time the Baptist's influence over the nation had been greater than that of its rulers, priests, or princes. If he had announced himself as the Messiah, and raised a revolt against Rome, priests and people would have flocked to his standard. Every consideration that appeals to the ambition of the wor...

With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Romans 12:1, Phillips.  {CC 273.1}       The Lord has been calling the attention of His people to health reform. This is one of the great branches of the work of preparation for the coming of the Son of man. J...

Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. Amos 4:12, last part.  {CC 272.1}        John the Baptist in his desert life was taught of God. He studied the revelations of God in nature. Under the guiding of the divine Spirit, he studied the scrolls of the prophets. By day and by night, Christ was his study, his meditation, until mind and heart and soul were filled with the glorious vision. He looked upon th...