Help for the Poor in Spirit

Today's Devotion Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Help for the Poor in Spirit

Today's Text Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

All who have a sense of their deep soul poverty, who feel that they have nothing good in themselves, may find righteousness and strength by looking unto Jesus. Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 8. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:17. Man must be emptied of self before he can be, in the fullest sense, a believer in Jesus. When self is renounced, then the Lord can make man a new creature. The Desire of Ages, 280. When man has sinned against a holy and merciful God, he can pursue no course so noble as to repent sincerely, and confess his errors in tears and bitterness of soul. This God requires of him; He accepts nothing less than a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Prophets and Kings, 435, 436. The proud heart strives to earn salvation; but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness, and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to the control of God. Then he can receive the gift that God is waiting to bestow. From the soul that feels his need, nothing is withheld. He has unrestricted access to Him in whom all fullness dwells. The Desire of Ages, 300. The only reason why we may not have remission of sins that are past is that we are not willing to humble our proud hearts and comply with the conditions. Testimonies for the Church 5:636. God is very pitiful, for He understands our weaknesses and our temptations; and when we come to Him with broken hearts and contrite spirits. He accepts our repentance, and promises that, as we take hold of His strength to make peace with Him, we shall make peace with Him. Oh, what gratitude, what joy, should we feel that God is merciful! Testimonies for the Church 3:239, 240. The offering most sweet and acceptable in God's sight is a heart made humble by self-denial, by lifting the cross and following Jesus. Evangelism, 510. 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, pride is the one thing that keeps the church of Laodicea in the condition that they are in. They are satisfied with their spiritual condition and do not feel their need of anything. The Faithful and True Witness says "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing;" (Revelation 3:15-17). This is the condition of the remnant church of God; this is the condition of the Seventh-day Adventist Church today. The reason why the church cannot see its true condition before God is because they have spiritual pride. They believe that because God has blessed them with the light of prophecy in the past, that they are the favored people of God. This spiritual pride has blinded them from seeing their true condition before God. Their true condition is that they are "... wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" (Revelation 3:17). The church is in this condition because they have forsaken the One true God for the false god of the trinity. This is evident in the fact that Jesus is on the outside seeking to gain entrance into the heart of His people saying "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20). My friend, pride is at the heart of all sin, and unless we humble ourselves before God, we cannot receive His Spirit within our hearts. The message to the Seventh-day Adventist Church that is in the Laodicean condition is a straight message that cuts to the heart of their condition. Those who humble their hearts to receive it will be filled with the Spirit of Christ; those who resist the working of His Spirit upon their hearts, close their hearts to the working of the Spirit of God and are left in darkness. Jesus said "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matthew 6:22, 23). May you lay aside your spiritual pride, that the Faithful and True Witness of God may open your eyes to your true condition before God, that you may with a broken and contrite heart, surrender your heart to Him. God bless,

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

The Seal of God and the Latter Rain - Wes Taitague In the last days everyone will receive the Seal of God or the Mark of the Beast. In this message we identify what the Seal of God is and how it is that we receive it. Then we take a look at the Latter Rain; what it is, when it happens and how it relates to the Seal of God. This message was presented at the Advent Bible Fellowship on June 15, 2019 on Guam. 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

Thursday: A Change of Heart Needed

Union with Christ

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A Personal Pardon

Today's Devotion Monday, June 24, 2019

A Personal Pardon

Today's Text Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51.1

We should remember that all make mistakes; even men and women who have had years of experience sometimes err; but God does not cast them off because of their errors; to every erring son and daughter of Adam He gives the privilege of another trial. The Signs of the Times, May 21, 1902. Jesus loves to have us come to Him just as we are, sinful, helpless, dependent. We may come with all our weakness, our folly, our sinfulness, and fall at His feet in penitence. It is His glory to encircle us in the arms of His love, and to bind up our wounds, to cleanse us from all impurity. Here is where thousands fail: they do not believe that Jesus pardons them personally, individually. They do not take God at His word. It is the privilege of all who comply with the conditions to know for themselves that pardon is freely extended for every sin. Put away the suspicion that God's promises are not meant for you. They are for every repentant transgressor. Strength and grace have been provided through Christ to be brought by ministering angels to every believing soul. None are so sinful that they cannot find strength, purity, and righteousness in Jesus, who died for them. He is waiting to strip them of their garments stained and polluted with sin, and to put upon them the white robes of righteousness; He bids them live and not die.... Can you believe that when the poor sinner longs to return, longs to forsake his sins, the Lord sternly withholds him from coming to His feet in repentance? Away with such thoughts! Nothing can hurt your own soul more than to entertain such a conception of our heavenly Father.... Come with your whole heart to Jesus, and you may claim His blessing. Steps to Christ, 52-55. He who through His own atonement provided for man an infinite fund of moral power will not fail to employ this power in their behalf. The Review and Herald, October 30, 1900. 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, our salvation is a personal salvation, it must be so otherwise we cannot be saved. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9). This confession of sin is for our own sins, not the sins of another, and when we do, the promise is not just that we are forgiven of our sins, but that we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. Each are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. This work is a personal work that must happen in the heart of all that would be saved. "... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12, 13). Each are to develop that personal relationship with Jesus, that He may come into their hearts and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. May you work out your own salvation in Jesus today. God bless,

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

The Seal of God and the Latter Rain - Wes Taitague In the last days everyone will receive the Seal of God or the Mark of the Beast. In this message we identify what the Seal of God is and how it is that we receive it. Then we take a look at the Latter Rain; what it is, when it happens and how it relates to the Seal of God. This message was presented at the Advent Bible Fellowship on June 15, 2019 on Guam. 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: Union With Christ

Come Just as You Are

Today's Devotion Friday, June 21, 2019

Come Just as You Are

Today's Text Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Jeremiah 13:23

God does not regard all sins as of equal magnitude; there are degrees of guilt in His estimation, as well as in that of man; but however trifling this or that wrong act may seem in the eyes of men, no sin is small in the sight of God. Man's judgment is partial, imperfect; but God estimates all things as they really are. The drunkard is despised, and is told that his sin will exclude him from heaven; while pride, selfishness, and covetousness too often go unrebuked. But these are sins that are especially offensive to God; for they are contrary to the benevolence of His character, to that unselfish love which is the very atmosphere of the unfallen universe. He who falls into some of the grosser sins may feel a sense of his shame and poverty and his need of the grace of Christ; but pride feels no need, and so it closes the heart against Christ, and the infinite blessings He came to give. The poor publican who prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13), regarded himself as a very wicked man, and others looked upon him in the same light; but he felt his need, and with his burden of guilt and shame he came before God, asking for His mercy. His heart was open for the Spirit of God to do its gracious work and set him free from the power of sin. The Pharisee's boastful, self-righteous prayer showed that his heart was closed against the influence of the Holy Spirit. Because of his distance from God, he had no sense of his own defilement, in contrast with the perfection of the divine holiness. He felt no need, and he received nothing. If you see your sinfulness, do not wait to make yourself better. How many there are who think they are not good enough to come to Christ. Do you expect to become better through your own efforts? ... There is help for us only in God. We must not wait for stronger persuasions, for better opportunities, or for holier tempers. We can do nothing for ourselves. We must come to Christ just as we are. Steps to Christ, 30, 31. Yield yourself to Christ without delay; He alone, by the power of His grace, can redeem you from ruin. He alone can bring your moral and mental powers into a state of health. Your heart may be warm with the love of God; your understanding, clear and mature; your conscience, illuminated, quick, and pure; your will, upright and sanctified, subject to the control of the Spirit of God. You can make yourself what you choose. If you will now face rightabout, cease to do evil and learn to do well, then you will be happy indeed; you will be successful in the battles of life, and rise to glory and honor in the better life than this. Testimonies for the Church 2:564, 565. 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, there is nothing that we can do to recommend ourselves to God. Just as the leopard cannot change his spots, so too are we unable to change our carnal hearts. We sin because it is in our nature to do so. Without the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ living within us, we have no power to resist sin. As such we need to come to Jesus just as we are and allow Him to come into our lives that His Spirit may dwell within us. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24). This is the first step in the process of fitting us for heaven. When the sinner accepts Christ as their Savior, the new birth of His Spirit justifies the sinner before God. The next step is to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to fit us to live in the sight of a holy God without any spot or wrinkle in our characters. This process while important does not save us, for we are already saved. The work that we do in overcoming the defilement that sin has wrought within our characters is not a work of salvation, but the work of fitting us for heaven. This is the work of Christ upon the heart. As we daily surrender our wills to His, He transforms the carnal desires of our heart into holy and righteous desires. My friend, though at times it may seem like you will not gain the victory over sin, we have the promise that we will. As Jesus was victorious in the wilderness, so too will we also be victorious, for it is not us that lives but Christ that lives within us. He is the author and finisher of our faith. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" (Philippians 1:6). God bless,

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

Justification and Sanctification - Wes Taitague What is the difference between justification and sanctification? Are both necessary, and if so, which comes first? This and many more questions are answered in this message. This message was presented by at the Guam Advent Bible Fellowship service on June 8, 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

Monday: A Personal Pardon