The World Needs a Revelation of Christ, August 5

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. Philippians 2:15. We are living in the midst of an ‘epidemic of crime,’ at which thoughtful, God-fearing men everywhere stand aghast. The corruption that prevails, it is beyond the power of the human pen to describe. Every day brings fresh revelations of political strife, bribery, and fraud. Every day brings its heart-sickening record of violence and lawlessness, of indifference to human suffering, of brutal, fiendish destruction of human life. Every day testifies to the increase of insanity, murder, and suicide. Who can doubt that satanic agencies are at work among men with increasing activity to distract and corrupt the mind, and defile and destroy the body? And while the world is filled with these evils, the gospel is too often presented in so indifferent a manner as to make but little impression upon the consciences or the lives of men. Everywhere there are hearts crying out for something which they have not. They long for a power that will give them mastery over sin, a power that will deliver them from the bondage of evil, a power that will give health and life and peace. Many who once knew the power of God's Word have dwelt where there is no recognition of God, and they long for the divine presence. The world needs today what it needed nineteen hundred years ago—a revelation of Christ. A great work of reform is demanded, and it is only through the grace of Christ that the work of restoration, physical, mental, and spiritual, can be accomplished.—The Ministry of Healing, 142, 143. To everyone who becomes a partaker of His grace the Lord appoints a work for others. Individually we are to stand in our lot and place, saying, “Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8). Upon the minister of the Word, the missionary nurse, the Christian physician, the individual Christian whether he be merchant or farmer, professional man or mechanic—the responsibility rests upon all. It is our work to reveal to men the gospel of their salvation. Every enterprise in which we engage should be a means to this end.... Let all cultivate their physical and mental powers to the utmost of their ability, that they may work for God where His providence shall call them. The same grace that came from Christ to Paul and Apollos, that distinguished them for their spiritual excellencies, will today be imparted to devoted Christian missionaries. God desires His children to have intelligence and knowledge, that with unmistakable clearness and power His glory may be revealed in our world.—The Ministry of Healing, 148, 149.

All Men Are Drawn to the Uplifted Saviour, August 2

Christ to Be Lifted Up And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. John 12:32. Never before was there such a general knowledge of Jesus as when He hung upon the cross. He was lifted up from the earth, to draw all to Him. Into the hearts of many who beheld that crucifixion scene, and who heard Christ's words, was the light of truth to shine. With John they would proclaim, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” There were those who never rested until, searching the Scriptures and comparing passage with passage, they saw the meaning of Christ's mission. They saw that free forgiveness was provided by Him whose tender mercy embraced the whole world. They read the prophecies regarding Christ, and the promises so free and full, pointing to a fountain opened for Judah and Jerusalem.2Manuscript 45, 1897. The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light which streams from the cross of Calvary, and in connection with the wondrous, central truth of the Saviour's atonement. Those who study the Redeemer's wonderful sacrifice grow in grace and knowledge. I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption,—the Son of God uplifted on the cross of Calvary. This is to be the theme of every discourse.3Manuscript 70, 1901. Jesus is inviting and drawing by His Holy Spirit the hearts of young and old to Himself.... When Christ crucified is preached, the power of the gospel is demonstrated by the influence it exerts over the believer. In place of remaining dead in trespasses and sins, he is awakened.4The Youth's Instructor, January 19, 1893. Lift up the Man of Calvary higher and still higher; there is power in the exaltation of the cross of Christ.5Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 434.

Jesus Was a Friend to Every Human Being,

August 2 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. Hebrews 10:9. Christ's dignity as a divine teacher was of an order higher than the dignity of priests and rulers. It was distinct from all worldly pomp; for it was divine. He dispensed with all worldly display, and showed that He regarded the gradations of society, fixed by opulence and rank, as of no value. He had ... stepped down from His high command to bring to human beings power to become the sons of God; and earthly rank was not of the least value with Him. He could have brought with Him ten thousand angels if they would have helped Him in His work of redeeming the race. Christ passed by the homes of the wealthy, the courts of royalty, the renowned seats of learning, and made His home in obscure and despised Nazareth. His life, from its beginning to its close, was a life of lowliness and humility. Poverty was made sacred by His life of poverty. He would not put on a dignity of attitude that would debar men and women, however lowly, from coming into His presence and listening to His teaching.... No teacher ever placed such signal honor upon man as did our Lord Jesus Christ. He was known as the friend of publicans and sinners. He mingled with all classes, and sowed the world with truth. In the marketplace and the synagogue He proclaimed His message. He relieved every species of suffering, both physical and spiritual. Beside all waters He sowed the seeds of truth. His one desire was that all might have spiritual and physical soundness. He was the friend of every human being. Was He not pledged to bring life and light to all who would receive Him? Was He not pledged to give them power to become the sons of God? He gave Himself wholly and entirely to the work of soul-saving.... As He “went about doing good,” every day's experience was an outpouring of His life. In one way only could such a life be sustained. Jesus lived in dependence upon God and communion with Him. To the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, men now and then repair; they abide for a season, and the result is manifest in noble deeds; then their faith fails, the communion is interrupted, and the lifework marred. But the life of Jesus was a life of constant trust, sustained by continual communion; and His service for heaven and earth was without failure or faltering. As a man He supplicated the throne of God, until His humanity was charged with a heavenly current that connected humanity with divinity. Receiving life from God, He imparted life to men.—The Signs of the Times, June 7, 1905.

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We See Christ on the Cross,

August—We Glory in the Cross of Christ August 1 Christ to Be Lifted Up And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. Mark 15:25. The spotless Son of God hung upon the cross, His flesh lacerated with stripes; those hands so often reached out in blessing, nailed to the wooden bars; those feet so tireless on ministries of love, spiked to the tree; that royal head pierced by the crown of thorns; those quivering lips shaped to the cry of woe. And all that He endured—the blood drops that flowed from His head, His hands, His feet, the agony that racked His frame, and the unutterable anguish that filled His soul at the hiding of His Father's face—speaks to each child of humanity, declaring, It is for thee that the Son of God consents to bear this burden of guilt; for thee He spoils the domain of death, and opens the gates of Paradise. He ... offers Himself upon the cross as a sacrifice, and this from love to thee. He, the Sin-Bearer, endures the wrath of divine justice, and for thy sake becomes sin itself. In silence the beholders watched for the end of the fearful scene. The sun shone forth; but the cross was still enveloped in darkness. Priests and rulers looked toward Jerusalem; and lo, the dense cloud had settled over the city, and the plains of Judea. The Sun of Righteousness, the Light of the world, was withdrawing His beams from the once favored city of Jerusalem. The fierce lightnings of God's wrath were directed against the fated city. Suddenly the gloom lifted from the cross, and in clear, trumpetlike tones, that seemed to resound throughout creation, Jesus cried, “It is finished.” “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” A light encircled the cross, and the face of the Saviour shone with a glory like the sun. He then bowed His head upon His breast, and died.1The Desire of Ages, 755, 756.

Christ's Commendation to the Merciful, August 1

August—Reflecting Christ Through Reaching Out Christ's Commendation to the Merciful, August 1 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7. The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” There never was a time when there was greater need for the exercise of mercy than today. The poor are all around us, the distressed, the afflicted, the sorrowing, and those who are ready to perish. Those who have acquired riches have acquired them through the exercise of the talents that were given them of God; but these talents for the acquiring of property were given to them that they might relieve those who are in poverty. These gifts were bestowed upon men by Him who maketh His sun to shine and His rain to fall upon the just and the unjust, that by the fruitfulness of the earth men might have abundant supplies for all their need. The fields have been blessed of God, and of His goodness He hath prepared for the poor. In the providence of God events have been so ordered that the poor are always with us, in order that there may be a constant exercise in the human heart of the attributes of mercy and love. Man is to cultivate the tenderness and compassion of Christ; he is not to separate himself from the sorrowing, the afflicted, the needy, and the distressed.—The Signs of the Times, June 13, 1892. There are many who complain of God because the world is so full of want and suffering, but God never meant that this misery should exist. He never meant that one man should have an abundance of the luxuries of life while the children of others cry for bread. The Lord is a God of benevolence.—Testimonies for the Church 6:273. If men would do their duty as faithful stewards of their Lord's goods, there would be no cry for bread, none suffering in destitution, none naked and in want. It is the unfaithfulness of men that brings about the state of suffering in which humanity is plunged. If those whom God has made stewards would but appropriate their Lord's goods to the object for which He gave to them, this state of suffering would not exist. The Lord tests men by giving them an abundance of good things, just as He tested the rich man of the parable. If we prove ourselves unfaithful in the righteous mammon, who shall entrust us the true riches? It will be those who have stood the test on the earth, who have been found faithful, who have obeyed the words of the Lord in being merciful, in using their means for the advancement of His kingdom, that will hear from the lips of the Master, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things.”—The Review and Herald, June 26, 1894.