Let's Be Serious

Reader, did you know that we have a real prophet? She is not a prophet now and then. She didn’t just write recommendations and suggestions that we can choose from like a smorgasbord. A prophet has messages from God and we are to take them seriously.

The most life-changing decision I ever made was to read her writings with an attitude of “what does God want me to do?” and to take each sentence as from God, instead of reading with an attitude of “what would I like to hear today that will make me feel good.”

I’ve come to the realization that God does not move a standing object. We have a part to play in our salvation, and it is a war of choices. We make small and large choices every single day, often without even thinking about it. And often we don’t realize how impactful those choices are. Small every day choices in what we eat or drink actually make our bodies what they are. The way we handle our failings is also a choice. I can choose to shake it off and say “oh well, better luck next time.” Or I can stop and realize that what I’m doing is not acceptable, and think about how my words or actions have hurt someone I love, or even God. I can choose to repent and apologize and to pray more and decide to be more submitted to God.

Reader, please take our prophet seriously. Please read her writings more in your daily life, not just the classics like Desire of Ages, Steps to Christ or even the Great Controversy, but the other books she wrote, like Last Day Events, Country Living, Counsels on Diet and Foods, Selected Messages, Gospel Workers, and more. In these as in the Testimonies to the Church, you will find advice and instruction for every situation in which you find yourself.

Read it as you would the Bible – according to Isaiah 28:10 – here a little, and there a little, understanding each passage in context with other passages on the same topic. Read avidly, with a mind attuned to what God would have you to do, and then do it, without question. Don’t resist when what you read touches your plate, or demands an uncomfortable change, or involves a difficult confrontation. If it says “cheese should not enter the stomach”, follow it. If it pricks you in other ways, don’t resist. These commands are for our good and our salvation, upon whom the ends of the earth have come.

Our characters are the only things we take to heaven, and our willingness to do what God wants is part of our character. The final events will require a group of people that will follow the Lamb “withersoever He goeth” and who have spotless refined characters. This is not in our own strength, but God’s, but it does require of us submission and reformation. This is why God has given us a prophet that speaks more about the details of daily living than any other prophet has. She is not like Jeremiah, but goes into every nook and cranny of our lives. There has never been a time in history when so much truth has been available to us.

Dear Reader, it is possible for you to be a part of that number that sees Jesus come. It is possible for even you to have the privilege of being a part of that group that vindicates God in the worst time of history. We are told that that group represents the weakest of the weak, and yet they are able to represent in their characters God’s ability to perfect even those who seemed the least likely. As we see the end nearing and hear the rumbling of rapid movements to bring about the final events, this is the best advice I can give you. The Sunday law is on the horizon and it is the 2nd siege of Jerusalem. The armies will not turn back this time as they did in 1888 when Sunday blue laws were being considered in the US.

Dear Reader, run to the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy and immerse yourself in it on a daily basis. We must be fortifying our minds for what is coming. Examine yourselves that you be still in the faith. Make your redemption sure.