Guilt

Memory Text: “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared” (Psalm 130:3, 4, NIV).

“Scripture taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION”. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson Publishers. Used by Permission.

Sabbath Afternoon

Sunday

Shame

Genesis 3:8-13 (New King James Version) 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Romans 8:1 (New King James Version) 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Psalm 103:12 (New King James Version) 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Monday

Joseph’s Brothers’ Distress

Genesis 42:21 (New King James Version) 21 Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

Genesis 45:3 (New King James Version) 3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.

James 5:16 (New King James Version) 16 Confess your trespasses[a] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

1 John 1:9 (New King James Version) 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The Acts of the Apostles, p. 566.

The greatest praise that men can bring to God is to become consecrated channels through whom He can work. Time is rapidly passing into eternity. Let us not keep back from God that which is His own. Let us not refuse Him that which, though it cannot be given with merit, cannot be denied without ruin. He asks for a whole heart; give it to Him; it is His, both by creation and by redemption. He asks for your intellect; give it to Him; it is His. He asks for your money; give it to Him; it is His. "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price." 1 Corinthians 6: 19, 20. God requires the homage of a sanctified soul, which has prepared itself, by the exercise of the faith that works by love, to serve Him. He holds up before us the highest ideal, even perfection. He asks us to be absolutely and completely for Him in this world as He is for us in the presence of God.

"This is the will of God" concerning you, "even your sanctification." 1 Thessalonians 4:3. Is it your will also? Your sins may be as mountains before you; but if you humble your heart and confess your sins, trusting in the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, He will forgive and will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. God demands of you entire conformity to His law. This law is the echo of His voice saying to you, Holier, yes, holier still. Desire the fullness of the grace of Christ. Let your heart be filled with an intense longing for His righteousness, the work of which God's word declares is peace, and its effect quietness and assurance forever.

Tuesday

Sapped Strength

Read Psalm 32

Psalm 32:3 (New King James Version) 3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long.

Psalm 32:4 (New King James Version) 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

Psalm 32:5 (New King James Version) 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Psalm 32:11 (New King James Version) 11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

1 Timothy 4:1-2 (New King James Version) 1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

Wednesday

Bitter Weeping

Matthew 26:75 (New King James Version) 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

John 18:25 (New King James Version) 25 Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not!”

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 416.

God hears every sincere prayer. He would place you in connection with His work that He might bring you more directly to the light. And unless you should seal your vision against evidence and light you would be persuaded that if you were more distrustful of yourself and less distrustful of your brethren you would be more prosperous in God. It is God who has led you through strait places. He had a purpose in this, that tribulation might work in you patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. He permitted trials to come upon you, that, through them, you might experience the peaceable fruits of righteousness. {3T 416.1}

Peter denied the Man of Sorrows in His acquaintance with grief in the hour of His humiliation. But he afterward repented and was reconverted. He had true contrition of soul and gave himself afresh to his Saviour. With blinding tears he makes his way to the solitudes of the Garden of Gethsemane and there prostrates himself where he saw his Saviour's prostrate form when the bloody sweat was forced from His pores by His great agony. Peter remembers with remorse that he was asleep when Jesus prayed during those fearful hours. His proud heart breaks, and penitential tears moisten the sods so recently stained with the bloody sweat drops of God's dear Son. He left that garden a converted man. He was ready then to pity the tempted. He was humbled and could sympathize with the weak and erring. He could caution and warn the presumptuous, and was fully fitted to strengthen his brethren. {3T 416.2}

God led you through affliction and trials that you might have more perfect trust and confidence in Him, and that you might think less of your own judgment. You can bear adversity better than prosperity. The all-seeing eye of Jehovah detected in you much dross that you considered gold and too valuable to throw away. The enemy's power over you had at times been direct and very strong. The delusions of spiritualism had entangled your faith, perverted your judgment, and confused your experience. God in His providence would try you, to purify you, as the sons of Levi, that you might offer to Him an offering in righteousness. {3T 416.3}

Thursday

Total Forgiveness

Romans 8:1 (New King James Version) 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Psalm 103:12 (New King James Version) 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Isaiah 1:18 (New King James Version) 18 “ Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “ Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.

Micah 7:19 (New King James Version) 19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.

Friday

Bible Training School, May 1915.

Jesus Christ is the life of every blessing, every grace, every religious ordinance, the life of all that is precious and valuable to the children of God, In the human agent we shall often meet with uncertainty and disappointment; but it is not well for us to brood over that phase of character; for if we look at it and talk of it, it becomes to us a living reality. Distrust and suspicion bear their own fruit, and we will reap that which we sow. {BTS, May 1, 1915 par. 1}

But Christ is an overflowing fountain, an ever outspreading shade. In His shadow we may find rest and peace and pleasure. When temptations assail you, as they surely will, when care, perplexity, and darkness seem to enshroud the soul, look, O look to where with eyes of faith you last saw the light, and you will rest in Christ's love and under His protecting shield. {BTS, May 1, 1915 par. 2}

Bereavements come to all, but we have no right to mourn over the dead or to afflict our souls because of the change in our lives. This certainly cannot help them or us. Our work is to do service for the Master by representing Christ in character to the world. We must honor our Saviour in all things. Who applies the precious promises? Who heals the human sorrows? Who dries the bitter tear? -- Jesus. He is our restorer. {BTS, May 1, 1915 par. 3}

When sin struggles for the mastery in the human heart, when guilt seems to oppress the soul and burden the conscience, when unbelief clouds the mind, who lets in the beams of light? Whose grace is sufficient to subdue sin, and who gives the precious forgiveness and pardons all our sins, expelling the darkness, and making us hopeful and joyful in God? -- Jesus, the sin-pardoning Saviour. He is still our Advocate in the courts of heaven; and those whose lives are hid with Christ in God must arise and shine, because the glory of the Lord has risen upon them. {BTS, May 1, 1915 par. 4}

The reason of the spiritual feebleness of today is the low estimate the believer is constantly inclined to form of his spiritual character. But he is of that value that the Lord Jesus has paid an infinite price for his salvation, and Christ would have His chosen heritage value themselves according to the price He placed upon them. In view of this do not let any one of us disappoint Jesus by placing a low estimate upon ourselves. Let us embrace the opportunities and privileges which will increase our value with God, by using all the treasures of His grace to become precious and lovely in His sight. If this were done, many more souls of solid moral worth would be seen, because by uniting with Jesus, our lives become imbued with His spiritual likeness. Practical holiness would run like threads of gold through our lives, and as they beheld the wholeness of character to God, heavenly angels would say, "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir!" {BTS, May 1, 1915 par. 5}

The Faith I Live By, p. 128.

The apostle says, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed." James 5:16. Confess your sins to God, who only can forgive them, and your faults to one another. If you have given offense to your friend or neighbor, you are to acknowledge your wrong, and it is his duty freely to forgive you. Then you are to seek the forgiveness of God, because the brother you have wounded is the property of God, and in injuring him you have sinned against his Creator. . . . {FLB 128.2}

True confession is always of a specific character, and acknowledges particular sins. They may be of such a nature as to be brought before God only; they may be wrongs that should be confessed to individuals who have suffered injury through them; or they may be of a public character, and should then be as publicly confessed. But all confession should be definite and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which you are guilty. {FLB 128.3}

Many, many confessions should never be spoken in the hearing of mortals; for the result is that which the limited judgment of finite beings does not anticipate. . . . God will be better glorified if we confess the secret, inbred corruption of the heart to Jesus alone than if we open its recesses to finite, erring man, who cannot judge righteously unless his heart is constantly imbued with the Spirit of God. . . . Do not pour into human ears the story which God alone should hear. {FLB 128.4}

The confession that is the outpouring of the inmost soul finds its way to the God of infinite pity. {FLB 128.5}

Your sins may be as mountains before you; but if you humble your heart, and confess your sins, trusting in the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, He will forgive, and will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. . . . Desire the fullness of the grace of Christ. Let your heart be filled with an intense longing for His righteousness.