God's Temple Is to Receive Constant Care, November 3

Self-improvement Necessary to Christian Growth Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Corinthians 6:16. We are to obey the laws of His kingdom, making ourselves all that it is possible for us to be. Earnestly we are to cultivate the highest powers of our being, remembering that we are God's property, God's building. We are required to improve every day. Even in this world of sin and sorrow, we may, by earnest, persevering effort, rise to the highest spiritual efficiency.... We are to please God. This we may do; for Enoch pleased God, though living in a degenerate age. And there are Enochs in this our day. The human house, God's building, His temple, requires close, vigilant, watchful guardianship. With David we can exclaim, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” God's workmanship is to be preserved, that it may be revealed to the heavenly universe and to the apostate race that men and women are temples of the living God. The perfection of character which God requires is the fitting up of the whole being as a temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Lord requires the service of the entire human machinery. He desires men and women to be all that He has made it possible for them to be. It is not enough for certain parts of the machinery to be used. All parts must be brought into action, or the service is deficient.... The physical life is to be carefully educated, cultivated, and developed, that through men and women the divine nature may be revealed in its fullness. God expects men to use the intellect He has given them. He expects them to use every reasoning power for Him. They are to give the conscience the place of supremacy that has been assigned it. The mental and physical powers, with the affections, are to be so cultivated that they can reach the highest efficiency.7Manuscript 130, 1899.

A Preacher of Righteousness,

November 3 As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26, 27, R.S.V. It is the nature of sin to spread and increase. Since the first sin of Adam, from generation to generation it has spread like a contagious disease. While the world was yet in its infancy, sin became fearful in its proportions. Hatred of God's law, and, as the sure result, hatred of all goodness, became universal. God, who had created man and given him with an unsparing hand the bounties of His providence, was dishonored by the beings He had created, slighted and despised by the recipients of His gifts. But though sinful man forgot His benevolent Benefactor, God did not forget the creature He had formed. Not only did He send “rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons,” filling man's heart with “food and gladness,” but He sent him also messages of warning and entreaty. Man's wickedness was fully set before him, and the result of transgressing the divine law. In the days of Noah, the wickedness of the world became so great that God could no longer bear with it.... But He pitied the race, and in His love provided a refuge for all who would accept it. He gave the message to Noah to be given to the people: “My spirit shall not always strive with man.” ... The Spirit of God continued to strive with rebellious man until the time specified had nearly expired, when Noah and his family entered the ark, and the hand of God closed its door. Mercy had stepped from the golden throne, no longer to intercede for the guilty sinner. All the men of that generation were not in the fullest sense of the term heathen idolaters. Many had a knowledge of God and His law; but they not only rejected the message of the faithful preacher of righteousness themselves, but used all their influence to prevent others from being obedient to God. To everyone comes a day of trial and trust. That generation had their day of opportunity and privilege while Noah was sounding the note of warning of the coming destruction; but they yielded their minds to the control of Satan rather than of God, and he deceived them, as he did our first parents. He set before them darkness and falsehood in the place of light and truth; and they accepted his sophistry and lies, because they were acceptable to them, and in harmony with their corrupt lives, while truth that would have saved them was rejected as a delusion. Numbers were not on the side of right.—The Signs of the Times, April 1, 1886.

Enoch Walked With God, November 2

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; ... for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Hebrews 11:5. The knowledge of God that works transformation of character is our great need. If we fulfill His purpose, there must be in our lives a revelation of God that shall correspond to the teaching of His Word. The experience of Enoch and of John the Baptist represents what ours should be. Far more than we do, we need to study the lives of these men—he who was translated to heaven without seeing death, and he who, before Christ's first advent, was called to prepare the way of the Lord, to make His paths straight. Of Enoch it is written that he lived sixty-five years and begat a son; after that he walked with God three hundred years. During those earlier years, Enoch had loved and feared God, and had kept His commandments. But after the birth of his first son he reached a higher experience; he was drawn into closer relationship with God. As he saw the child's love for its father, its simple trust in his protection; as he felt the deep, yearning tenderness of his own heart for that firstborn son, he learned a precious lesson of the wonderful love of God to man in the gift of His Son, and the confidence which the children of God may repose in their heavenly Father. The infinite, unfathomable love of God through Christ became the subject of his meditations day and night. With all the fervor of his soul he sought to reveal that love to the people among whom he dwelt.... His faith waxed stronger, his love became more ardent, with the lapse of centuries. To him prayer was as the breath of the soul. He lived in the atmosphere of heaven.... The power of God that wrought with His servant was felt by those who heard. Some gave heed to the warning and renounced their sins; but the multitudes mocked at the solemn message.... For three hundred years Enoch had been seeking purity of heart, that he might be in harmony with heaven. For three centuries he had walked with God. Day by day he had longed for a closer union; nearer and nearer had grown the communion, until God took him to Himself. He had stood at the threshold of the eternal world, only a step between him and the land of the blest; and now the portals opened, the walk with God, so long pursued on earth, continued, and he passed through the gates of the Holy City, the first from among men to enter there.... To such communion God is calling us. As was Enoch's must be their holiness of character who shall be redeemed from among men at the Lord's second coming.—Testimonies for the Church 8:329-331.

Glorify God by Improving Health Habits,

November 2 Self-improvement Necessary to Christian Growth For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. 1 Corinthians 6:20. Our first duty toward God and our fellow beings is that of self-development. Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good which we are capable. Hence that time is spent to good account which is directed to the establishment and preservation of sound physical and mental health.5Child Guidance, 395. Man is God's workmanship, His masterpiece, created for a high and holy purpose; and on every part of the human tabernacle God desires to write His law.... Every nerve and muscle, every mental and physical endowment, is to be kept pure. God designs that the body shall be as a temple for His Spirit. Solemn is the accountability resting upon every soul. Your individual influence is exercised for good or for evil. If you defile your body, you are not only doing harm to yourself, but to many others. Christians are under obligation to God to keep soul, body, and spirit free from all that will defile; for they have been bought with a price.... No man or woman has any right to form habits which lessen the healthful action of one organ of mind or body.... Those who give themselves up to the use of tobacco and liquor do not appreciate their intellect. They do not realize the value of the faculties God has given them, to be cultivated and improved. Thus men allow their powers to wither and decay. God desires all who believe in Him to feel the necessity of improvement. Every entrusted faculty is to be enlarged. Not one gift is to be laid aside. As God's husbandry and building, man is under His supervision in every sense of the word, and the better he becomes acquainted with his Maker, the more sacred will his life become in his estimation.6Manuscript 130, 1899.

US City Promotes RCC Law Giving License to Trespass & Other Crime.Protestantism No Longer Tolerated

Seek Constantly to Improve Your Powers, November 1

November—We Make Constant Advancement Self-improvement Necessary to Christian Growth For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6. You need to seek constantly the highest culture of mind and soul, that you may bring to the education and training of your children a restful spirit, a loving heart; that you may imbue them with pure aspirations, and cultivate in them a love for things honest and pure and holy.... Seek constantly to improve your powers, that you may do the most perfect, thorough work at home, by both precept and example.1The Review and Herald, September 15, 1891. You should not follow your own inclinations. You should be very careful to set a right example in all things. Do not be inactive. Arouse your dormant energies.... Take up the duties essential to be done. Study how to perform with alacrity the plain, uninteresting, homely, but most needful duties.2Child Guidance, 74. Parents have not yet aroused to understand the amazing power of Christian culture. There are mines of truth to be worked that have been strangely neglected. This careless indifference does not meet the approval of God. Parents, God calls upon you to look at this matter with anointed eyes. You have as yet only skimmed the surface. Take up your long-neglected work, and God will co-operate with you. Do your work with wholeheartedness, and God will help you to make improvement. Begin by bringing the gospel into the home life.3Child Guidance, 72, 73. The higher soul-culture, which gives purity and elevation to the thoughts and a spiritual fragrance to words and actions, requires careful, painstaking effort. It takes patience to keep every evil motive weeded from the garden of the Lord.4Manuscript 128, 1901.

November—How Men and Women Have Reflected Christ

God's Children to Be Light Bearers, November 1 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16. God never designed that one man's mind or judgment should be a controlling power. Whenever He has had a special work to be done, He has always had men ready to meet the demand. In every age, when the divine voice has asked, Who will go for us? the response has come, “Here am I, send me.” In ancient times the Lord had connected with His work men of varied talents. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses with his meekness and wisdom, and Joshua with his varied capabilities were all enlisted in God's service. The music of Miriam, the courage and piety of Deborah, the filial affection of Ruth, the obedience and faithfulness of Samuel—all were needed. Elijah with his stern traits of character, God used at His appointed time to execute judgment upon Jezebel. God will not give His Spirit to those who make no use of the heavenly gift. But those who are drawn out of and away from themselves, seeking to enlighten, encourage, and bless others, will have increased ability and energy to expend. The more light they give, the more they receive.—The Southern Watchman, October 31, 1905 (The Review and Herald, May 29, 1900). In all ages the “Spirit of Christ which was in them” (1 Peter 1:11) has made God's true children the light of the people of their generation. Joseph was a light bearer in Egypt. In his purity and benevolence and filial love he represented Christ in the midst of a nation of idolaters. While the Israelites were on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land, the truehearted among them were a light to the surrounding nations. Through them God was revealed to the world. From Daniel and his companions in Babylon, and from Mordecai in Persia, bright beams of light shone out amid the darkness of the kingly courts. In like manner the disciples of Christ are set as light bearers on the way to heaven; through them the Father's mercy and goodness are made manifest to a world enshrouded in the darkness of misapprehension of God. By seeing their good works, others are led to glorify the Father who is above; for it is made manifest that there is a God on the throne of the universe whose character is worthy of praise and imitation. The divine love glowing in the heart, the Christlike harmony manifested in the life, are as a glimpse of heaven granted to men of the world, that they may appreciate its excellence. It is thus that men are led to believe “the love that God hath to us” (1 John 4:16). Thus hearts once sinful and corrupt are purified and transformed, to be presented “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).—Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 41, 42.