Amen dear brothers and sister! Such beautiful and important truths  you have brought out this morning! Each of us who are reading here will surely be blessed.

 This ruler had a high estimate of his own righteousness. He did not really suppose that he was defective in anything, yet he was not altogether satisfied. He felt the want of something that he did not possess. Could not Jesus bless him as He blessed the little children, and satisfy his soul want?   

How many sitting in churches today have not seen their defects, or at least do not acknowledge them. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin so that all will know their danger. The Holy Spirit had not revealed to the rich young ruler his plague spot. But, Christ Himself did. When we see our defects, what shall we do? If we do not deal with them, then what more can God do than reveal His love for the sinner. He sends His disciples to reveal grace as He did when He sent Stephen to show grace to Saul the Persecutor. God is working hard to develop disciples who reflect His character to a world soon to perish. Today, there are millions reaching out for a knowledge of truth as never before. Who is it that has been entrusted with this leading edge of truth? When Jesus walked on this Earth it was Israel. They failed and were cut off. Today it is the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Why has not Jesus come yet? We have not done that which was entrusted to us. It is our joy today to finish the work given to us. We may experience the joy Sister Dorine has pointed out. "I'm thankful today for that experience because sharing with those less fortunate brings such blessings of joy and happiness. It brings us into a connection with them where we have the opportunity to share Jesus." Pastor Sean has shared the same! "Oh, let us value the sacrifice of Christ and the invitation to be in His service, laying all on the altar for His will to be done in our lives! Then we have joy unspeakable, full of glory! " And Brother Beacon has answered the question as to what we must be in order to experience this love, joy, and peace in this world and the world to come. "Christ read the ruler's heart....Only one thing he lacked, but that was a vital principle....He needed the love of God in the soul."

This leaves the all important truth that we must understand and share with the world. As Nicodemus asked Jesus when he was told he needed to be transformed, born again of the Spirit, "how can these things be?"  Millions when they come to see the plague spot or spots in their character and try very hard to get rid of them, they find they cannot just as Saul could not. Saul tells us that he came to understand he was captive to the law of sin and death. He was the problem, his nature was that of sin. The way he put it was in a prayer cried out to the God of heaven. "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"  He thought Jesus an imposter. When Jesus answered his prayer by revealing Himself on the road to Damascus. Grace had been shown him over and over by those he was persecuting. They were true converted Christians reflecting the glory of God. They prayed Father forgive him for he knows not what he is doing. Stephen prayed "lay not this sin to their charge." It was this grace that revealed to Saul that God and His disciples loved him. It is this grace of God that brings for a transformation of character, a new cleansed heart white than snow. So, the question as to how can these things be is answered. Paul said that we are saved by grace. Then we need to see that grace that surrounds us. It is by beholding His great love for us when we were yet sinners that transforms sinners into saints.

2 Cor. 3:18 clearly sets this truth in a manner that we all can understand what we must do in order to love the Lord our God with the whole heart. We must spend time with Him. And we must do this daily lest we forget how much He loves us, the great suffering that They suffered that we might know of their love for us.

Amen, Brother Beacon!

What will you choose? Just as surely as Jesus addressed the rich young ruler, He is calling us to completely surrender all we have and are to Him! When we do, we get to partake of the divine nature so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives, empowering us to keep the law of God affectionately out of an intelligent appreciation of His love for us! "We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

"Christ's words were verily to the ruler the invitation, 'Choose you this day whom ye will serve.' Joshua 24:15. The choice was left with him. Jesus was yearning for his conversion. He had shown him the plague spot in his character, and with what deep interest He watched the issue as the young man weighed the question! If he decided to follow Christ, he must obey His words in everything. He must turn from his ambitious projects. With what earnest, anxious longing, what soul hunger, did the Saviour look at the young man, hoping that he would yield to the invitation of the Spirit of God!" {The Desire of Ages, page 520, paragraph 1}

Christ yearns for each soul in this world. He calls us all by name. "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine" (Isaiah 43:1). If we acknowledge our true identity in Christ, there is no limit to what He can do in and through our lives; if we turn away, as did the rich young ruler, the things of this life will become all-absorbing, and we will perish with the things that pass away. How sad! Oh, let us value the sacrifice of Christ and the invitation to be in His service, laying all on the altar for His will to be done in our lives! Then we have joy unspeakable, full of glory! Such a witness will attract others to Christ who gave all for us in His life of selflessness and His agonizing death to atone for sin! Praise God He is risen, soon to come again from heaven, and yearning to take His repentant and obedient children home when He comes! Will you choose to be "all in" for Him?

      Have 100% confidence in God   🥰

Amen my dear brothers and sister!  What came to my mind is that it is not just our children we need to care for, but our children's children. The truth given to us to lead children to Christ is a great blessing that many do not understand. Thus, we have a work to do with parents who know not the principles of rearing children to be little Christians. As Pastor Sean has shared, children are most susceptible to the teachings of the gospel; their hearts are open to divine influences, and strong to retain the lessons received. Day by day as we study the life of Jesus we find that God is most interested in the development of our character. He wants us to have love, joy, and peace in this world and in the world to come. So it with our children, He instructs us how we can help them form characters after the character of our Savior. As Sister Dorine has shared it is "by gentle touches, by loving ministrations, seek to fashion their characters after the pattern of the character of Christ." And Brother Beacon pointed out that our opportunity is not just with our children, but with other's children who "have by inheritance objectionable traits of character."    And like with adults, what is the power that transforms sinners into saints? We may lead them to understand the love Jesus has for them. The highest form of love is love that is not deserved. It is the joy of the worker be successful.  By wisdom and tact he may bind them to his heart, he may give them courage and hope, and through the grace of Christ may see them transformed in character.

Thus in today's reading we find that it is grace that is the power that changes the character of us and our children into the character of our Savior. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18. It would be well to spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Jesus, especially the closing scenes where we see how much our God loves us with a love we do not deserve. And, it is His wonderful  love that we may teach the little ones.



 

Amen, Brother Beacon!

Praise the Lord for the way the Holy Spirit draws children! We can cooperate with Jesus in being a blessing to them! And when we do surrender all to Christ, we can partake of that childlike confiding trust in Christ as our Savior to guide and lead us in life, imbuing us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!

"It is still true that children are the most susceptible to the teachings of the gospel; their hearts are open to divine influences, and strong to retain the lessons received. The little children may be Christians, having an experience in accordance with their years. They need to be educated in spiritual things, and parents should give them every advantage, that they may form characters after the similitude of the character of Christ." {The Desire of Ages, page 515, paragraph 1}

As the character of Christ is wrought in mind and soul in harmony with true obedience to God's law, children can enjoy being blessing wherever they are. Let us encourage the generous, loving impulses of childhood!