We are now winding down the year 2015. Soon it will pass into eternity and we begin the New Year, 2016. Time is fast running out. The world will soon come to an end! The year 2015 had been a year of mixed events. Both victories and defeats have been seen in our ranks. In view of this, before we enter another year, we need to ask ourselves how we have lived this past year. The Bible tells us, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Corinthians 13:5. God’s people will come out triumphant in the struggle between the powers of good and evil.
Foundation of Victory
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57. In God there is victory. He has known no defeats. Since victory is in God only, sin creates a gulf between the Holy God and the guilty sinner. It is Christ only that can bridge this gulf so that we can be counted part of the family of God again. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12. Victory, therefore, is accomplished only through Christ. When we realize our sinfulness and how wretched we are, we understand that we need a Saviour. That Saviour is Jesus Christ. By faith we accept Him as a surety for our salvation and a propitiation for our sins. At that moment we have been forgiven all of our past sins that we have committed.
“Faith is the only condition upon which justification can be obtained, and faith includes not only belief but trust.” –Selected Messages, book 1 p. 389. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.” Romans 5:1; 3:25. A heavenly power takes control of the mind as soon as we accept Christ. Everything becomes changed. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Those who see Christ in His true character, and receive Him into the heart, have everlasting life. It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the Spirit of God received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of the life eternal. . . . When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 388, 173
Building the Victory
The Christian life is not a life of idleness. It is a life of constant battle. After having obtained the victory explained above, the mind is changed but not the body. Its baser passions still strive for supremacy. Therefore, the next step is to continue to draw large supplies from the Source of power to overcome all temptations and the wiles of the evil one. It can sometimes be a fierce battle. Satan never wants to relent! It is then that we hear the encouraging words from the Source of life: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” John 16:33. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
Christ overcame the world. The secret is ours—to keep constantly looking unto Jesus. If we lose sight of Him we will be defeated and will fall into the dark world below. “And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.” Matthew 14:28–30
How do we look unto Him? It is by constantly exercising faith in Him, depending fully on Him, resting in Him and casting aside any trust in self. Strong faith helps us to remain standing. We are prevented from falling again into sin by faith. “Sanctification is the doing of all the commandments of God. Some of you have failed to do this, because you have taken your eyes away from Jesus, and have looked to yourselves. . . . We shall have to wage a constant battle with Satan, if we preserve our faith to the end amid the discouragements that will press upon us. We must look away from self, for Jesus is our only hope. The language of the soul must be, ‘He is mine; I will never let go His arm. He will bless me; the cleansing blood will be applied to my soul.’” –The Signs of the Times, March 24, 1890
“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16. God’s word is food. This food increases our faith in Him. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17. Bible study is life. Also, Jesus is the Word, and He said that we must eat His body and drink His blood. This is both for our justification and purification.
“To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to receive Him as a personal Saviour, believing that He forgives our sins, and that we are complete in Him. It is by beholding His love, by dwelling upon it, by drinking it in, that we are to become partakers of His nature. What food is to the body, Christ must be to the soul. Food cannot benefit us unless we eat it, unless it becomes part of our being. So Christ has no value to us if we do not know Him as a personal Saviour. A theoretical knowledge will do us no good. We must feed upon Him, receive Him into the heart, so that His life becomes our life. His love, His grace, must be assimilated.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 389
When we pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), we are constantly endowed with power to resist the devil so that he will flee from us (James 4:7); and as we meditate on His will, in the groves, mountains, and other silent places, we are in sweet communion with Him. Even in our daily business transactions we can feel His presence.
“In our association with one another, we should take heed lest we forget Jesus, and pass along unmindful that He is not with us. When we become absorbed in worldly things so that we have no thought for Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered, we separate ourselves from Jesus and from the heavenly angels. These holy beings cannot remain where the Saviour’s presence is not desired, and His absence is not marked. This is why discouragement so often exists among the professed followers of Christ.
“Many attend religious services, and are refreshed and comforted by the word of God; but through neglect of meditation, watchfulness, and prayer, they lose the blessing, and find themselves more destitute than before they received it. Often they feel that God has dealt hardly with them. They do not see that the fault is their own. By separating themselves from Jesus, they have shut away the light of His presence.
“It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
“As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ’s, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be ‘changed into the same image from glory to glory.’ 2 Corinthians 3:18.” –Ibid, p. 83
Then nothing can draw us away again and we find that we are like holy Enoch! We walk in the presence of the Lord! Others need this victory and we need to help them also before time comes to an end.
Now we conclude our assessment. Dear fellow pilgrim, what kind of life have you lived in the year 2015? We do not know what the coming year 2016 will bring. Jesus told us to watch for we do not know when He will come. We never know if this will be the year when the rest of the remaining few signs of the times come to pass, bringing us into eternity with the Lord. In the letters of Jesus to the seven churches (Revelation 2 and 3), all the promises are given only to the overcomers. So, rise, do not look back, save your life! With this solemn thought, I wish you a victorious year—2016. Amen.
Joel Msiska
“The fruit of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden possessed supernatural virtue. To eat of it was to live forever. Its fruit was the antidote of death. Its leaves were for the sustaining of life and immortality. But through man’s disobedience, death entered the world. Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the fruit of which he had been forbidden to touch. His ere is beauty in the valley’s awful grandeur, in the solemn, massive, cleft rocks; there is majesty in the towering mountains that look as if they touched the heavens. There are the lofty trees with their delicately formed leaves; the spires of grass, the opening bud and blossoming flower, the forest trees, and every living thing. They all point the mind to the great and living God. Every faculty of our being testifies that there is a living God, and we may learn from the open book of nature the most precious lessons in regard to the Lord of heaven. {OFC 107.2}
In this study the mind expands, is elevated and uplifted, and becomes hungry to know more of God and His majesty. We have awakened in our hearts feelings not only of reverence and awe but of love, of faith, of trust and entire dependence upon One who is the giver of all good. And as I look at His marvelous works and see the evidences of His power I instinctively inquire, “What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Psalm 8:4. {OFC 107.3}
All the greatness and glory of these wonderful things in God’s house can only be appreciated as they are, in the mind, associated with God and the future home of bliss He is preparing for those who love Him. . . .While we talk freely of other countries, why should we be reticent in regard to the heavenly country, and the house not built with hands, eternal in the heavens? This heavenly country is of more consequence to us than any other city or country on the globe, therefore we should think and talk of this better—even an heavenly—country. And why should we not converse more earnestly, and in a heavenly frame of mind, in regard to God’s gifts in nature? He has made all these things, and designs that we shall see God in His created works. These things are to keep God in our remembrance and to lift our hearts from sensual things and bind them in bonds of love and gratitude to our Creator. {OFC 107.4}
Natur Nature Speaks of God
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Psalm 143:5, 6. {OHC 251.1}
We have looked upon the lofty, terraced mountains in their majestic beauty, with their rocky battlements resembling grand old castles. These mountains speak to us of the desolating wrath of God in vindication of His broken law; for they were heaved up by the stormy convulsions of the flood. They are like mighty waves that at the voice of God stood still–stiffened billows, arrested in their proudest swell. These towering mountains belong to God; He presides over their rocky fastnesses. The wealth of their mines is His also, and so are the deep places of the earth. {OHC 251.2}
If you would see the evidences that there is a God, look around you wherever your lot may be cast. He is speaking to your senses and impressing your soul through His created works. Let your heart receive these impressions, and nature will be to you an open book, and will teach you divine truth through familiar things. The lofty trees will not be regarded with indifference. Every opening flower, every leaf with its delicate veins, will testify of the infinite skill of the great Master Artist. The massive rocks and towering mountains that rise in the distance are not the result of chance. They speak in silent eloquence of One who sits upon the throne of the universe, high and lifted up. “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” All His plans are perfect. What awe and reverence should His name inspire! . . . {OHC 251.3}
God is Himself the Rock of Ages, a refuge for His people, a covert from the storm, a shadow from the burning heat. He has given us His promises, which are more firm and immovable than the rocky heights, the everlasting hills. The mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed; but His kindness shall not depart, nor His covenant of peace be removed from those who by faith make Him their trust. If we would look to God for help as steadfastly as these rocky, barren mountains point to the heavens above them, we should never be moved from our faith in Him and our allegiance to His holy law. {OHC 251.4}
Nature Speaks of God
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Psalm 143:5, 6. {OHC 251.1}
We have looked upon the lofty, terraced mountains in their majestic beauty, with their rocky battlements resembling grand old castles. These mountains speak to us of the desolating wrath of God in vindication of His broken law; for they were heaved up by the stormy convulsions of the flood. They are like mighty waves that at the voice of God stood still–stiffened billows, arrested in their proudest swell. These towering mountains belong to God; He presides over their rocky fastnesses. The wealth of their mines is His also, and so are the deep places of the earth. {OHC 251.2}
If you would see the evidences that there is a God, look around you wherever your lot may be cast. He is speaking to your senses and impressing your soul through His created works. Let your heart receive these impressions, and nature will be to you an open book, and will teach you divine truth through familiar things. The lofty trees will not be regarded with indifference. Every opening flower, every leaf with its delicate veins, will testify of the infinite skill of the great Master Artist. The massive rocks and towering mountains that rise in the distance are not the result of chance. They speak in silent eloquence of One who sits upon the throne of the universe, high and lifted up. “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” All His plans are perfect. What awe and reverence should His name inspire! . . . {OHC 251.3}
God is Himself the Rock of Ages, a refuge for His people, a covert from the storm, a shadow from the burning heat. He has given us His promises, which are more firm and immovable than the rocky heights, the everlasting hills. The mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed; but His kindness shall not depart, nor His covenant of peace be removed from those who by faith make Him their trust. If we would look to God for help as steadfastly as these rocky, barren mountains point to the heavens above them, we should never be moved from our faith in Him and our allegiance to His holy law. {OHC 251.4}
e Speaks of God
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Psalm 143:5, 6. {OHC 251.1}
We have looked upon the lofty, terraced mountains in their majestic beauty, with their rocky battlements resembling grand old castles. These mountains speak to us of the desolating wrath of God in vindication of His broken law; for they were heaved up by the stormy convulsions of the flood. They are like mighty waves that at the voice of God stood still–stiffened billows, arrested in their proudest swell. These towering mountains belong to God; He presides over their rocky fastnesses. The wealth of their mines is His also, and so are the deep places of the earth. {OHC 251.2}
If you would see the evidences that there is a God, look around you wherever your lot may be cast. He is speaking to your senses and impressing your soul through His created works. Let your heart receive these impressions, and nature will be to you an open book, and will teach you divine truth through familiar things. The lofty trees will not be regarded with indifference. Every opening flower, every leaf with its delicate veins, will testify of the infinite skill of the great Master Artist. The massive rocks and towering mountains that rise in the distance are not the result of chance. They speak in silent eloquence of One who sits upon the throne of the universe, high and lifted up. “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” All His plans are perfect. What awe and reverence should His name inspire! . . . {OHC 251.3}
God is Himself the Rock of Ages, a refuge for His people, a covert from the storm, a shadow from the burning heat. He has given us His promises, which are more firm and immovable than the rocky heights, the everlasting hills. The mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed; but His kindness shall not depart, nor His covenant of peace be removed from those who by faith make Him their trust. If we would look to God for help as steadfastly as these rocky, barren mountains point to the heavens above them, we should never be moved from our faith in Him and our allegiance to His holy law. {OHC 251.4}
Nature Speaks of God
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Psalm 143:5, 6. {OHC 251.1}
We have looked upon the lofty, terraced mountains in their majestic beauty, with their rocky battlements resembling grand old castles. These mountains speak to us of the desolating wrath of God in vindication of His broken law; for they were heaved up by the stormy convulsions of the flood. They are like mighty waves that at the voice of God stood still–stiffened billows, arrested in their proudest swell. These towering mountains belong to God; He presides over their rocky fastnesses. The wealth of their mines is His also, and so are the deep places of the earth. {OHC 251.2}
If you would see the evidences that there is a God, look around you wherever your lot may be cast. He is speaking to your senses and impressing your soul through His created works. Let your heart receive these impressions, and nature will be to you an open book, and will teach you divine truth through familiar things. The lofty trees will not be regarded with indifference. Every opening flower, every leaf with its delicate veins, will testify of the infinite skill of the great Master Artist. The massive rocks and towering mountains that rise in the distance are not the result of chance. They speak in silent eloquence of One who sits upon the throne of the universe, high and lifted up. “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” All His plans are perfect. What awe and reverence should His name inspire! . . . {OHC 251.3}
God is Himself the Rock of Ages, a refuge for His people, a covert from the storm, a shadow from the burning heat. He has given us His promises, which are more firm and immovable than the rocky heights, the everlasting hills. The mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed; but His kindness shall not depart, nor His covenant of peace be removed from those who by faith make Him their trust. If we would look to God for help as steadfastly as these rocky, barren mountains point to the heavens above them, we should never be moved from our faith in Him and our allegiance to His holy law. {OHC 251.4}
tin, what possibility, a model built on reality not for just 365 days but essentially for the lifetime and another most striking reality: “IF we sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”. 1John 2:1-may our faith look up to him always hellofreedom of1234561oiyoiuyoiuy choice, his obedience would Now is the time to re-think our position. Now is the time to get closer to God than ever before. There is no time to waste. Let us take care of every moment. Overcoming one temptation is one step heavenward and prepares us for great victories in life. May God help us to do this and be with Him in the heavenly Canaan. Amenel Msiska
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Timo Martin