Monday, March 31, 2025

We Can Grow in Faith as Did Moses, April 1

April—The Wilderness Journey to Canaan By faith Moses, when he had come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Hebrews 11:24, 25. Egypt, in that age the greatest kingdom of the world, offered its highest position of honor to Moses. But he did not accept the alluring temptation, “for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” ... The strength of Moses was his connection with the Source of all power, the Lord God of hosts. He rises grandly above every earthly inducement, and trusts himself wholly to God. He considered that he was the Lord's. While he was connected with the official interests of the king of Egypt, he was constantly studying the laws of God's government, and thus his faith grew. That faith was of value to him. It was deeply rooted in the soil of his earliest teachings, and the culture of his life was to prepare him for the great work of delivering Israel from bondage.... After slaying the Egyptian, he saw that he had not understood God's plan, and he fled from Egypt and became a shepherd. He was no longer planning to do a great work, but he became very humble; the mists that were beclouding his mind were expelled, and he disciplined his mind to seek after God as his refuge. He recognized the presence of God in his surroundings. All nature seemed to be filled with the presence of the Unseen One. He knew God as a personal God, and as he meditated upon His character, he grasped more and more the sense of His presence. He found refuge in the everlasting arms. God talked with Moses face-to-face, as a man speaketh with his friend. The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone into his heart and into the chambers of his mind. God was his refuge; God was his dwelling place, his home.... By faith you, like Moses, may endure as seeing Him who is invisible. The Lord desires to give you a precious experience. God has a work for you to do. You may seek after a higher sense of eternal things. God is nigh unto all them that call upon Him with the whole heart. What are the advantages and honors that the world proffers you when compared with the privileges of the sons of God? ... The shades of darkness will soon pass away; the morning cometh; the conflict is well-nigh ended. There is a crown of life laid up for everyone who has been a partaker with Christ in His suffering.—Letter 21a, 1893 (Manuscript Releases 14:14-16).

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Sunday, March 30, 2025

Vice Does Not Triumph Over Virtue, March 31

And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison.... But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Genesis 39:20, 21. Wherever you may be placed, you must be fortified by firm principle. Enter life determined by the help of God to cleave close to whatsoever things are honest, true, lovely, and of good report. The fear of God, united with the love of that which is noble, pure, and elevating, will guard you from a dishonest action.... How pleasant, how satisfactory, will be the recollection all through life that though exposed to many and fierce temptations, your hands were unstained by dishonesty, and your heart undefiled by cherishing temptation.... What a lesson for all youth we have in the history of Joseph. Here moral integrity was preserved under the strongest temptations. How fierce and seductive was the assault upon his virtue! Coming from such a source and in such a form, it was the most likely to corrupt a youthful mind. Joseph was saved by his religious principles, which led him promptly and firmly to resist the device of Satan. His tempter, defeated in her purpose, wickedly sought to ruin the youth whose virtues she could not corrupt, and accused Joseph of the very crime he would not commit.... God made the imprisonment of this faithful youth the means of his elevation. Had it not been for this wicked act of Potiphar's wife, Joseph would never have become prime minister of Egypt. Although vice seemed to triumph while virtue was trampled in the dust, Joseph did not make his lot worse by repining. He possessed genuine religion.... God was teaching Joseph important lessons. He was preparing him for a position of trust, honor, and usefulness. Joseph learned to govern by first learning to obey. He humbled himself, and God exalted him. The religion of the Bible never degrades the receiver; on the contrary, it elevates and ennobles all who accept and obey its teachings. The fear of God is a strong defense for the youth. With this shield they may pass through the most corrupting scenes uncontaminated. My dear son [Edson], do not get above the simplicity of a humble Christian life. Let the character of Joseph be your character; let his strength to resist temptation be your strength. Your efforts will be successful if you make them in the strength of God. Jesus is a present help. May the blessing of Jesus ever rest upon you is the prayer of your mother.—Letter 20, 1868.

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Inner Character Revealed in Actions, March 30

His master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife ...: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? Genesis 39:7-9. Joseph, in the providence of God, was deprived of his happy home and the teachings and example of his God-fearing father, and his lot was cast in a family of dark heathen. There his virtue was severely tested. It is always a critical period in a young man's life when he is separated from home influences and wise counsels and enters upon new scenes and trying tests.... God was with Joseph in his new home. He was in the path of duty, suffering wrong but not doing wrong. He therefore had the love and protection of God, for he carried his religious principles into everything he undertook. What a difference there was in Joseph's case and the case of young people who apparently force their way into the very field of the enemy, exposing themselves to the fierce assaults of Satan. Joseph suffered for righteousness’ sake, while the trials of others are of their own procuring. Joseph did not conceal his religion or manly piety to avoid persecution. The Lord prospered Joseph, but in the midst of his prosperity came the darkest adversity. The wife of his master was a licentious woman, one who urged his steps to take hold on hell. Would Joseph yield his moral gold of character to the seductions of a corrupt woman? Would he remember that the eye of God was upon him? Few temptations are more dangerous or more fatal to young men than the temptation of sensuality, and none, if yielded to, will prove so decidedly ruinous to soul and body for time and eternity. The welfare of his entire future was suspended upon the decision of a moment. Joseph calmly cast his eyes to heaven for help, slipped off his loose outer garment, leaving it in the hand of his tempter, and while his eye was lighted with determined resolve in the place of unholy passion, he exclaimed, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” ... True religion extends to all the thoughts of the mind, penetrating to all the secret thoughts of the heart, to all the motives of action, to the object and direction of the affections, to the whole framework of our lives. “Thou God seest me” will be the watchword, the guard of the life.... But Joseph was a Christian.... He entered into the troubles of his fellow prisoners. He was cheerful, for he was a Christian gentleman. God was preparing him under this discipline for a situation of great responsibility, honor, and usefulness, and he was willing to learn ... the lessons the Lord would teach him.—Letter 3, 1879 (Manuscript Releases 4:220-223).

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I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they ...