Friday: Further Thought – Christian Living
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Unity and Love in the Church”, pp. 477, 478; “Love for the Erring”, pp. 604-606, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5; “Helping the Tempted”, p. 166, in The Ministry of Healing; p. 719, in The SDA Bible Commentary,vol. 6.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“I was shown the danger of the people of God in looking to Brother and Sister White and thinking that they must come to them with their burdens and seek counsel of them. This ought not so to be. They are invited by their compassionate, loving Saviour to come unto Him, when weary and heavy-laden, and He will relieve them. . . . Many come to us with the inquiry: Shall I do this? Shall I engage in that enterprise? Or, in regard to dress, Shall I wear this or that article? I answer them: You profess to be disciples of Christ. Study your Bibles. Read carefully and prayerfully the life of our dear Saviour when He dwelt among men upon the earth. Imitate His life, and you will not be found straying from the narrow path. We utterly refuse to be conscience for you. If we tell you just what to do, you will look to us to guide you, instead of going directly to Jesus for yourselves.” – Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, pp. 118, 119.
“We are not to place the responsibility of our duty upon others, and wait for them to tell us what to do. We cannot depend for counsel upon humanity. The Lord will teach us our duty just as willingly as He will teach somebody else. . . . Those who decide to do nothing in any line that will displease God, will know, after presenting their case before Him, just what course to pursue.” – The Desire of Ages, p. 668.
“There have ever been in the church those who are constantly inclined toward individual independence. They seem unable to realize that independence of spirit is liable to lead the human agent to have too much confidence in himself and to trust in his own judgment rather than to respect the counsel and highly esteem the judgment of his brethren.” – The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 163, 164.
Discussion Question:
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Given some of the themes of this week, how do we as Christians find the right balance in:
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Communication is such an important talent that it can either build up or destroy concepts. The problem is that culture plays a huge role in this! Missing love (Christ) in the heart may take people apart even more!
Which is exactly why “doing the right thing” sometimes depends on culture. For instance in the US (and many other parts of the world) culture has changed a LOT in my lifetime. Yet the methods we use to try to reach people have tended to be the same we used over sixty years ago when I was born. Repetition has somehow made them “sacred” and dulled our senses to how incongruous they are to the culture we live in and the people God is asking us to reach.
Caution! Thinking Christian at work!
I like where you are going with your comment Wilton.
Maybe my thinking is too simple, but if we are connected with Jesus and asking His guidance through the Holy Spirit… The God who knows all things and the heart of everyone will led and guide both our actions and our words.
Being connected to Jesus and asking for guidance through the Holy Spirit is a good thing, but beyond being a nice phrase that tickles the ears of Adventists (and other Christians) what does it mean?
I know a fair bit about electricity, in fact a lot more than is really necessary. I can talk about electron drift velocity, and Fermi-Dirac engergy levels. But if I fail to flick the swtich on that sends electrical power to the light-bulb I will have to put up with living in darkness.
Likewise, all the Christian phrases in the world are useless if I do not put them into practice. Develop a working relationship with Jesus, Read the Gospels right through carefully to see the example that Jesus provided us with. Seek to apply those examples to your own experience.
Just walking with Jesus and flipping the switch by choosing His Love instead of our natural selfishness are more powerful for salvation from sin and selfishness than all the theological discourses of the smartest minds of this world.