Day of Days

Today's Devotion Monday, January 6, 2020

Day of Days

Today's Text And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. Ezekiel 20:20

The Sabbath should be made so interesting to our families that its weekly return will be hailed with joy. Testimonies for the Church 2:585. The Sabbath school and the meeting for worship occupy only a part of the Sabbath. The portion remaining to the family may be made the most sacred and precious season of all the Sabbath hours. Testimonies for the Church 6:358. In the minds of the children the very thought of the Sabbath should be bound up with the beauty of natural things.... Happy the father and mother who can teach their children God's written word with illustrations from the open pages of the book of nature; who can gather under the green trees, in the fresh, pure air, to study the Word and to sing the praise of the Father above. Education, 250, 251. In pleasant weather let parents walk with their children in the fields and groves. Amid the beautiful things of nature tell them the reason for the institution of the Sabbath. Describe to them God's great work of creation. Tell them that when the earth came from His hand, it was holy and beautiful. Every flower, every shrub, every tree, answered the purpose of its Creator.... Show that it was sin which marred God's perfect work; that thorns and thistles, sorrow and pain and death, are all the result of disobedience to God. Bid them see how the earth, though marred with the curse of sin, still reveals God's goodness. Testimonies for the Church 6:358. If we can cultivate within us a beauty of soul corresponding to the beauty of nature around us, there will be a blending of the divine and human agencies. Letter 132, 1900. As the sun goes down, let the voice of prayer and the hymn of praise mark the close of the sacred hours and invite God's presence through the cares of the week of labor. Thus parents can make the Sabbath, as it should be, the most joyful day of the week. They can lead their children to regard it as a delight, the day of days, the holy of the Lord, honorable. Testimonies for the Church 6:359. Note: In some areas phrases have been omitted by the compilers for whatever reason. I have restored them as underlined text, that the full intent of the author may be given.

My Thoughts: My friend, the Sabbath is a day that God has set aside that we can reset from our labors and spend time with Him. It was instituted at the creation of the world, long before the law of God was spoken from Mount Sinai. The church looks to the keeping of this day of rest as a sign of our allegiance to God and as such it is revered. Yet today the Sabbath has been hedged in by so many restrictions that the main purpose of the day is undone. Like the Jews of old who made up numerous restrictions to keep them from breaking the law of God, so too has the church done with the Sabbath, making it more of a burden then a day of joy and rest. These does and don'ts come from the mind of a people that do not walk after the Spirit but after the law. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1). To walk in the Spirit means to have the Spirit of Christ living within you. Our true problem with sin is not the acts of sin that we commit, it is our sinful nature. The law of God was given that we may be brought into a knowledge of God and to put a check upon sin until the true remedy for sin could come. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:3, 4). To many within the Adventist church, the Sabbath has become a prison house in time. During the hours of the Sabbath they are restricted from doing that which they long to do. On the outside they praise the Lord, but in their hearts they long for its close. In order to keep the Sabbath holy we must ourselves be holy, and in order for us to be holy, we must be in Christ. Our hearts are at enmity with the Sabbath because we have not truly surrendered our hearts to Jesus. My friend, if in your heart you long for the hours of the Sabbath to be over, then you need a new heart. The promise of God to us is "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26, 27). When you do this the Sabbath will become a delight. God bless,

I encourage your comments: wtaitague@gmail.com or directly in the blog (Click Here)

Unto a Perfect Man - Nader Mansour The body of Christ grows unto a perfect man. This image has multiple applications. Join Nader Mansour in this study about Christian growth and development individually and collectively. Presented at Wellington Camp, New Zealand, April 2019. RESOURCES: Archive of Daily Devotions Melodies of Prayer Free Bible & Commentary Bible Study Resources The Truth About God The Final Protest Revelation1412.org Recommended YouTube Channels (New) The Advent Bible Fellowship YouTube channel Open Face Fellowship Revelation 14:12 Pro-life Andrew Smyrna Gospel Ministry Line of Truth Ministries

Tuesday: The Royal Robe of Heaven

Singing on Life's Way

Today's Devotion Friday, January 3, 2020

Singing on Life's Way

Today's Text Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. Psalm 89:15

As the children of Israel, journeying through the wilderness, cheered their way by the music of sacred song, so God bids His children today gladden their pilgrim life. There are few means more effective for fixing His words in the memory than repeating them in song. And such song has wonderful power. It has power to subdue rude and uncultivated natures; power to quicken thought and ... to promote harmony of action.... It is one of the most effective means of impressing the heart with spiritual truth. How often to the soul hard-pressed and ready to despair, memory recalls some word of God's—the long-forgotten burden of a childhood song—and temptations lose their power.... Let there be singing in the home, of songs that are sweet and pure, and there will be fewer words of censure, and more of cheerfulness and hope and joy. Education, 167, 168. Jesus carried into His labor cheerfulness and tact.... Often He expressed the gladness of His heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs. Often the dwellers in Nazareth heard His voice raised in praise and thanksgiving to God. He held communion with heaven in song; and as His companions complained of weariness from labor, they were cheered by the sweet melody from His lips. His praise seemed to banish the evil angels, and, like incense, fill the place with fragrance. The Desire of Ages, 73. With the voice of singing He welcomed the morning light. He listened to the lark caroling forth music to its God, and joined His voice with the voice of praise and thanksgiving. SDA Bible Commentary 5:1117. Song is a weapon that we can always use against discouragement. The Ministry of Healing, 254. The voice of thanksgiving, praise, and rejoicing is heard in heaven. The voices of the angels in heaven unite with the voices of the children of God on earth as they ascribe honor and glory and praise to God and to the Lamb for the great salvation provided. Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 246. Let us learn the song of the angels now, that we may sing it when we join their shining ranks. Patriarchs and Prophets, 289. Note: In some areas phrases have been omitted by the compilers for whatever reason. I have restored them as underlined text, that the full intent of the author may be given.

My Thoughts: My friend, Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. The very foundation of the gospel is based upon God giving to us His Son. Jesus said in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” My friend, our salvation is based upon the reality of God giving us His Son. In giving us His Son He gives us His very life. “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;” (John 5:26). Our true problem with sin is that we are sinful by nature, and this sinful nature ultimately leads to death. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). For us to be saved we must receive a new life; we must receive the life of God given to us through His Son. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1 John 5:11, 12). The Seventh-day Adventist church was founded upon the foundation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, but with the passing away of Ellen White and the church pioneers, the doctrine of the trinity gradually made its way into the church. “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 4). Little by little, and generation by generation, the enemy of souls has infiltrated the church, molding the minds of our church leaders to accept the doctrine of the trinity, until it was officially received as one of the fundamental beliefs at the General Conference session in 1980. My friend, I have been a Seventh-day Adventist all my life, in fact I am a third generation Adventist. I grew up going to Bible prophecy seminars and Bible studies with my mother. I was baptized into the church in 1978 at the age of 12. I was even an assistant Pastor for the church. I used to preach and teach the doctrines of the church, and though I believed in God as a trinity, I never truly understood what it meant and the implications of the trinity upon my salvation. It was not easy for me to accept that the doctrine of the trinity was false, but over time, with much prayer, Bible study and the working of the Spirit of God upon my heart, I’ve come to embrace Jesus as the literal Son of God. Since then my whole experience has changed. The Bible is as a new revelation of God. It is now fresh and vibrant. I cannot begin to tell you the of the peace and joy I have in my heart since I have accepted the true Son of God as my Savior, and it is my desire to bring this joy and peace to you. God bless,

I encourage your comments: wtaitague@gmail.com or directly in the blog (Click Here)

The Father & Son Covenant (Part 2) - Nader Mansour The Father & Son covenant examines the one saving covenant made between the Father and Son. It explores the relationship between the old and new covenant. Join Nader Mansour as he navigates this often misunderstood subject. (Part 2) RESOURCES: Archive of Daily Devotions Melodies of Prayer Free Bible & Commentary Bible Study Resources The Truth About God The Final Protest Revelation1412.org Recommended YouTube Channels (New) The Advent Bible Fellowship YouTube channel Open Face Fellowship Revelation 14:12 Pro-life Andrew Smyrna Gospel Ministry Line of Truth Ministries

Monday: Day of Days

Sweetest Hour of the Day

Today's Devotion Thursday, January 2, 2020

Sweetest Hour of the Day

Today's Text My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Psalm 5:3

If ever there was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Patriarchs and Prophets, 144. In every Christian home God should be honored by the morning and evening sacrifices of prayer and praise. Children should be taught to respect and reverence the hour of prayer. It is the duty of Christian parents, morning and evening, by earnest prayer and persevering faith, to make a hedge about their children. Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 110. The hours of morning and evening worship should be sweetest and most helpful of the day. Let it be understood that into these hours no troubled, unkind thoughts are to intrude; that parents and children assemble to meet with Jesus, and to invite into the home the presence of holy angels. Let the services be brief and full of life, adapted to the occasion, and varied from time to time. Let all join in the Bible reading, and learn and often repeat God's law. Education, 186. In the church at home the children are to learn to pray and to trust in God.... Come in humility, with a heart full of tenderness, and with a sense of the temptations and dangers before yourselves and your children; by faith bind them to the altar, entreating for them the care of the Lord. Train the children to offer their simple words of prayer. Tell them that God delights to have them call upon Him. Will the Lord of heaven pass by such homes, and leave no blessing there? Nay, verily. Ministering angels will guard the children who are thus dedicated to God. They hear the offering of praise and the prayer of faith, and they bear the petitions to Him who ministers in the sanctuary for His people, and offers His merits in their behalf. Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 110. The beautiful lessons of the Bible stories and parables, the pure, simple instruction of God's Holy Word, is the spiritual food for you and your children. Oh, what a work is before you! Will you take hold of it in the love and fear of God? Child Guidance, 506. Note: In some areas phrases have been omitted by the compilers for whatever reason. I have restored them as underlined text, that the full intent of the author may be given.

My Thoughts: My friend, prayer is as the breath of the soul. Communion with God is so vital that Jesus would get up long before the sun would rise and commune with His Father. Yet how little time we set aside for prayer. Satan well knows that those whom he can get to neglect prayer and the searching of the Scriptures will be over come by his devices. Our connection with God is found in our communion with Him and in diligently searching His Word that we may know Him. Through the introduction of the doctrine of the trinity which teaches that the Father and Son relationship are only metaphors, he has successfully separated us from God. By presenting the Son of God as "God the Son", he has introduced a false Christ that has the outward appearance of the Son, but separates him from the power of the Father by claiming that he is God first and son second, meaning that the source of his life is within himself rather than from God Himself. This is the spirit of antichrist. Our salvation comes from the fact that Jesus is the literal Son of God, that we may receive the life of God through His Son. "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;" (John 5:26). The holy and righteous life of God given to us through His Son is the only life that can save us. "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." (1 John 5:11). My friend, it you have accepted the false Christ of the trinity you do not have the life God, and as such are still in your sins. It is time to look away from the false God of the trintiy unto the One true God through His Son Jesus Christ today. God bless,

I encourage your comments: wtaitague@gmail.com or directly in the blog (Click Here)

The Father & Son Covenant (Part 2) - Nader Mansour The Father & Son covenant examines the one saving covenant made between the Father and Son. It explores the relationship between the old and new covenant. Join Nader Mansour as he navigates this often misunderstood subject. (Part 2) RESOURCES: Archive of Daily Devotions Melodies of Prayer Free Bible & Commentary Bible Study Resources The Truth About God The Final Protest Revelation1412.org Recommended YouTube Channels (New) The Advent Bible Fellowship YouTube channel Open Face Fellowship Revelation 14:12 Pro-life Andrew Smyrna Gospel Ministry Line of Truth Ministries

Friday: Singing On Life's Way