Dear Heavenly Father, Our Lord promised that if we are connected with the Vine, we will bear fruit. Connect me, dear Father, to my precious Jesus. I long to abide in Him, so that the fruit of the Spirit will be manifested in my life this day, especially toward those who are closest to me. Your fruit is sweet, Holy Spirit, and I crave it! Thank You for giving me this spiritual fruit. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Love for Jesus
I desire Jesus to be the top priority in my life.
Satan is constantly at work to divert our minds from God, to bring us where we will glorify and honor self. Brethren and sisters, we want to have a change in this matter. It is serious business, this robbing God. There must be a change in this order of things. One of the greatest reasons for this state of things is this pride of dress, in the styles and fashions of the world. You want the first, the best, and last of everything to be given to Jesus Christ, and forsake this foolish spirit of fashion. {21MR 225.3}
I desire to be filled with intense love for Jesus, in response to His immense love for me.
As we see the love which Christ has shown for fallen man, the divine compassion which he has manifested for the weak, the erring, and the most sinful, how it should humble our proud hearts, and awaken in them a deep, earnest, and far-reaching love for souls. {ST, January 6, 1887 par. 8}
I desire my heart to be so saturated with love for God that it gives motive power to all my actions.
We cannot follow Jesus and retain the friendship of the world. There must be on the part of the Christian an entire surrender, a forsaking of the things of this earth. True Christians will take Christ as their pattern in all things, loving Him with the whole heart, and serving Him with the whole being. He says, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." The child of God must not be guided nor governed by human wisdom; for this always leads away from the path of self-denial and cross-bearing cast up for the ransomed of the Lord. {RH, July 23, 1901 par. 4}
I deeply desire to be so in love with God that nothing He asks will be too big of a sacrifice.
But to know Jesus requires a change of heart. No unconverted person, in his natural state of depravity, loves Christ. A love of Jesus is the first result of conversion. The proof of this love is given: "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." {ST, May 9, 1900 par. 17}
I desire to love God so deeply that self is totally dead.
We must have such love for Jesus that we will consider it a privilege to suffer and even die for His sake. {HP 87.4}
We need to open the heart to Christ. We need much firmer faith and more fervent devotion. We need to die to self, and in mind and heart to cherish an adoring love for our Saviour. When we will seek the Lord with all the heart we shall find Him, and our hearts will be all aglow with His love. Self will sink into insignificance, and Jesus will be all and in all to the soul. {HP 87.6}
A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish.... But this union costs us something.... 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, they try to attach themselves to Christ without detaching themselves from these cherished idols. {FLB 221.5}
Love for Others
I acknowledge I don't love others as I should.
Why is it that there is so little genuine love for Christ in the church?--It is because the love of self has taken the place of love for Him who died on Calvary's cross for the sins of the world. Let us be of one heart, of one mind, and let us draw near to God, that he may draw near to us, and fill us with his intense love for perishing souls. Let every heart beat in unison, in interest for the cause of Christ. {RH, January 27, 1891 par. 5}
Those who are imbued with His Spirit will have an intense love for everyone for whom He died, and will work earnestly to bring into the heavenly garner a harvest of souls. Filled with His Spirit, men and women will be animated with the same desire to save sinners that animated Christ in His lifework as a missionary sent of God. {18MR 110.1}
I choose to have a deeper love for all, as Christ died for all.
As a people, we must have more love. Our hearts must grow soft in contemplating Christ. Oh that we might see our need of sympathy and wisdom and grace! When we are Christlike, we shall acknowledge no walls of partition. Christ died for all, and all who will believe may be cleansed from sin. It is the privilege of all to reach the perfection of Christian character. The true Christian educates himself to look away from self to Christ; and as he beholds his matchless mercy, his inexpressible love, every barrier between him and his brethren is broken down. The harshness of his nature is melted. He is refined and purified by the furnace fires, and can present an offering to God in righteousness. The law of kindness is upon his lips as the expression of the soul. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith, he is changed into the same image. {RH, November 21, 1899 par. 10}
I am asking God for a love for even my enemies, those who mistreat me.
O, let us all determine to crucify self and to imitate God! We are to express in our own lives the holiness of God, showing his forbearance, his tenderness, his compassion and love, and thus communicate his attributes. Then we shall no longer judge from the sight of the eye or the hearing of the ear. We shall bear in mind that we are yoked up with Christ, to draw with him, and to do the greatest possible amount of good. Our work may not be appreciated; we may be misjudged, falsified, and mistreated by those who claim to be Christians; but we are to look to Christ and follow him. Christians are to walk even as he walked. They are to have the mind of Christ, to possess that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. {RH, February 23, 1897 par. 9}
Let us daily represent Christ's great love by loving our enemies as Christ loves them. If we would thus represent the grace of Christ, strong feelings of hatred would be broken down and into many hearts genuine love would be brought. Many more conversions than are now seen would follow. True, it will cost us something to do this. {MM 254.2}
Let us pray, not only for ourselves, but for those who have hurt us, and are continuing to hurt us. Pray, pray, especially in your mind. Give not the Lord rest; for His ears are open to hear sincere, importunate prayers, when the soul is humbled before Him (Letter 88, 1906). {3BC 1141.8}
I desire God to put His love in my heart, so that I look at others as He does.
God cares for the human souls to whom He gave His only-begotten Son, and we must see all men through the eyes of divine compassion." {LS 363.2}
Those who have the Spirit of Christ will see all men through the eyes of divine compassion. No matter what may be the social position, no matter what his wealth or how high his education, if a man is in Christ, he will not be unkind, uncourteous, hard-hearted, and merciless. Since every soul is entirely dependent upon God for every blessing he enjoys, how patient, how merciful, we should be to every creature. God looked upon man in his lost condition, in his degradation and guilt, and paid the same price for the ransom of the poor and the outcast that he paid to ransom the rich with all his intrusted talents. There is no respect of persons with God. {ST, June 20, 1892 par. 2}
I pray for a burden for souls, and a spirit of intercession to plead on their behalf.
May the converting power of God come upon the churches, that they may feel a burden for souls, for the souls for whom Christ died, and seek to save them before the day of God's wrath breaks over the world. {SW, February 12, 1907 par. 10}
We must be co-workers with Christ if we would see our efforts crowned with success. We must weep as He wept for those who will not weep for themselves, and plead as He pleaded for those who will not plead for themselves. --Manuscript 24, 1903. {CW 108.2}
We are to keep a spirit of intercession, and present all our wants to God. We are to tell him about the smallest things of life,--our cares, our business, our desires and needs. You can never weary the Lord by your importuning. It is by beholding Jesus that you become changed into the divine similitude. We may behold him by continuing in prayer, until we are not aware that we are praying; for our souls turn to the Sun of Righteousness as a flower turns to the light. {ST, May 28, 1896 par. 3}
I desire my heart to be filled with compassion for all that I see.
Only he whose heart is filled with compassion for fallen man, who loves to a purpose, showing his love by the performance of Christlike deeds, will be able to endure the seeing of Him who is invisible. He only who loves his fellowmen to a purpose can know God. He who loves not those for whom the Father has done so much know not God. This is the reason there is so little genuine vitality in our churches. Theology is valueless unless it is saturated with the love of Christ. {LHU 134.3}
Every person whose heart is filled with compassion for fallen humanity, who loves to a purpose, will reveal that love by the performance of Christlike deeds. True Christianity diffuses love through the whole being. It touches every vital part-the brain, the heart, the helping hands, the feet-enabling us to stand firmly where God requires us to stand, lest the lame be turned out of the way. The contemplation of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us will make the life fragrant and give power to perfect a Christian experience. {BLJ 335.5}
I desire to be used of God to serve others in selfless ministry.
Humility and the disposition to serve God by serving others are the true marks of Christlikeness, and they will be truly honored in the kingdom of God. {17MR 168.2}
He who seeks to serve others by self-denial and self-sacrifice will be given the attributes of character that commend themselves to God, and develop wisdom, true patience, forbearance, kindness, compassion. This gives him the chiefest place in the kingdom of God.--Manuscript 165, 1898. {RC 200.6}
I choose to treat others as I would want them to treat me.
The golden rule, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," as well as the apostolic injunction, "In honour preferring one another," should be made the law of the family. Those who cherish the spirit of Christ will manifest politeness at home, a spirit of benevolence even in little things. They will be constantly seeking to make all around them happy, forgetting self in their kind attentions to others. This is the fruit which grows upon the Christian tree. {AH 423.3}
The golden rule is the principle of true courtesy, and its truest illustration is seen in the life and character of Jesus. Oh, what rays of softness and beauty shone forth in the daily life of our Saviour! What sweetness flowed from His very presence! The same spirit will be revealed in His children. Those with whom Christ dwells will be surrounded with a divine atmosphere. Their white robes of purity will be fragrant with perfume from the garden of the Lord. Their faces will reflect light from His, brightening the path for stumbling and weary feet. {AH 424.1}
I desire to have a missionary spirit, willing to lay down my life if necessary to save others.
Not until you feel that you could sacrifice your own self-dignity, and even lay down your life in order to save an erring brother, have you cast the beam out of your own eye so that you are prepared to help your brother. Then you can approach him and touch his heart. . . . A tender spirit, a gentle, winning deportment, may save the erring and hide a multitude of sins. The revelation of Christ in your own character will have a transforming power upon all with whom you come in contact. Let Christ be daily made manifest in you, and He will reveal through you the creative energy of His word--a gentle, persuasive, yet mighty influence to re-create other souls in the beauty of the Lord our God. {MB 128.3}
There is a work to be done in the earth, and God calls upon us individually to act a part in unfurling the banner of truth. There is great need of real missionaries and of the real missionary spirit. Many of us are far behind the providences of God. {RH, May 29, 1900 par. 6}
"The whole church needs to be imbued with the missionary spirit; then there will be many to work unselfishly, in various ways as they can, without being salaried." {PH012 12.1}
The Lord has encouraged those who have started out on their own responsibility to work for him, their hearts filled with love for souls ready to perish. A true missionary spirit will be imparted to those who seek earnestly to know God and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. The Lord lives and reigns. Young men, go forth into the places to which you are directed by the Spirit of the Lord. Work with your hands, that you may be self-supporting, and as you have opportunity, proclaim the message of warning. {SpM 176.6}
I am pleading with God to fill me with His love, and to remove my cold indifference toward others.
O, may the love of God inspire our hearts! Let the Holy Spirit enkindle in our hearts a flame of sacred devotion, that we may go forth to work in the vineyard of the Lord. Then we shall wear the victor's crown. Then we shall see him as he is, and hear at last the benediction, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." {RH, July 19, 1892 par. 13}
If our perceptions could be quickened to take in this wonderful work of our Saviour for our salvation, love, deep and ardent, would burn in our hearts. Our apathy and cold indifference would then alarm us. Entire devotion and benevolence, prompted by grateful love, will impart to the smallest offering, the willing sacrifice, a divine fragrance, making the gift of priceless value. But, after willingly yielding to our Redeemer all that we can bestow, be it ever so valuable to us, if we view our debt of gratitude to God as it really is, all that we may have offered will seem to us very insufficient and meager. But angels take these offerings, which to us seem poor, and present them as a fragrant offering before the throne, and they are accepted. {3T 396.4}
But too often man looks with cold indifference upon the conflicts through which his fellow-man is passing, as though these fierce struggles with the powers of darkness were nothing that concerned him. When we see the divine condescension, the sacrifices and sorrows, to which the Son of the infinite God subjected himself in order to accomplish the salvation of the fallen race, how can we remain indifferent? Should not the tenderness, pity, and love of Christ take hold of our very hearts, and lead us to manifest the same spirit toward every soldier in the ranks of our great Captain? Should we not remember that we too are weak, and that in the warfare we are waging we need help and sympathy? {ST, January 6, 1887 par. 6}
I desire God's boundless love to flow from me, so that others may be draw to Him.
Those who are co-laborers with Christ will exercise that carefulness, manifest that love, in dealing with their fellow-men, of which Christ has given us an example in his life, and which he has impressed upon our hearts by the lessons of his word. But our work does not end here. The poor, straying, lost sheep are to be hunted up, and brought back to the fold. They are to be cared for, strengthened, and encouraged. We each need a Saviour, and we each need the sympathy, watchcare, and love of our brethren. As we are brought together in church capacity, we pledge ourselves to be faithful one to another; and any failure in our duty here, any wrong done to our brother, is registered in the books of Heaven as a wrong done to Christ in the person of his saints. {ST, January 6, 1887 par. 7}
Joy in Jesus
I desire my heart to be filled with the joy of the Lord.
How strange it seems that with all the assurances of God's love, with all the manifestation of his power in our behalf, many are cold and indifferent, even among those who profess to believe the truth for this time. They do not bear a ringing, living testimony to the praise of God, for their faith and love have diminished to a feeble flame. Oh, that we all might be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Oh, that we might be as vessels unto the Lord. We want to see all the folly weeded out of the hearts of those who profess to be followers of the Lord, that the joy of the Lord may come in. {ST, April 4, 1892 par. 10}
I deeply desire to be radiant with infectious, spiritual joy, impacting all I meet.
The third angel is represented as flying swiftly through the midst of heaven, proclaiming his message with a loud voice. This representation symbolizes the work of God's agencies near the end of time. With joyful countenances and uplifted heads, with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining upon them, with rejoicing that their redemption draweth nigh, they go forth as soldiers of the cross. {18MR 137.2}
I desire my expression to reflect the true inner joy that I have found in Jesus.
Be affable and compassionate. Let your countenance reflect the joy of the Lord. Speak of His goodness and tell of His power. Then your light will shine more and more distinctly. Above your trials and disappointments will be revealed the reflection of a pure, healthy religious life. In the outworking of the inner life there will be a wonderful peace and joy. You may reflect the beauty of the character of your risen Lord, who, though He was rich, yet for our sake became poor, that through His poverty we might be made rich in the grace of heaven. As you rise above despondency into the clear sunlight of the presence of Christ, you will reveal the glory of God. {8MR 333.2}
I long to praise God with a sincerely grateful heart, rejoicing in His goodness.
We should educate the mind to dwell on heavenly things. We should accustom the heart to dwell in a frame of gratitude and praise. The more we praise God, the more we shall have to praise him for, and our hearts will become attuned to his praise. {RH, May 28, 1889 par. 4}
The Christian should live so near to God that he may approve things that are excellent, "being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." His heart should be attuned to gratitude and praise. He should be ever ready to acknowledge the blessings he is receiving, remembering who it is that has said, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me." {ST, February 12, 1885 par. 1}
I desire to scatter sunshine from Jesus wherever I am, brightening my little corner of the world.
All may possess a cheerful countenance, a gentle voice, a courteous manner; and these are elements of power. Children are attracted by a cheerful, sunny demeanor. Show them kindness and courtesy, and they will manifest the same spirit toward you and toward one another. {AH 421.4}
If there is anyone who should be continually grateful, it is the Christian. If there is anyone who enjoys happiness, even in this life, it is the faithful follower of Jesus Christ. It is the duty of God's children to be cheerful. They should encourage a happy frame of mind. God cannot be glorified by His children living continually under a cloud and casting a shadow wherever they go. The Christian should cast sunshine instead of a shadow. . . . He will bear a cheerful countenance. {CG 147.2}
I desire praise to spring spontaneously to my lips, even during trying and tragic times.
When difficulties and trials surround us, we should flee to God, and confidently expect help from Him who is mighty to save and strong to deliver. We must ask for God's blessing if we would receive it. Prayer is a duty and a necessity; but do we not neglect praise? Should we not oftener render thanksgiving to the Giver of all our blessings? We need to cultivate gratitude. We should frequently contemplate and recount the mercies of God, and laud and glorify his holy name, even when we are passing through sorrow and affliction. {RH, November 1, 1881 par. 14}
I desire that my life will reveal the truth of my profession.
Do we believe with all the heart that Christ is soon coming and that we are now having the last message of mercy that is ever to be given to a guilty world? Is our example what it should be? Do we, by our lives and holy conversation, show to those around us that we are looking for the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who shall change these vile bodies and fashion them like unto His glorious body? I fear that we do not believe and realize these things as we should. Those who believe the important truths that we profess, should act out their faith. There is too much seeking after amusements and things to take the attention in this world; the mind is left to run too much upon dress, and the tongue is engaged too often in light and trifling conversation, which gives the lie to our profession, for our conversation is not in heaven, whence we look for the Saviour. {EW 111.1}
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
