When the Lord has a genuine channel of light, there are always plenty of counterfeits. Satan will surely enter any door thrown open for him. He will give messages of truth mingling with the truth ideas of his own, prepared to mislead souls, to draw the mind to human beings and their sayings, and prevent it from holding firmly to a “Thus saith the Lord.” In God’s dealings with His people, all is quiet; with those who trust in Him, all is calm and unpretending. There will be simple, true, earnest believers in the Bible, and there will be doers of the Word as well as hearers. There will be sound, earnest, sensible waiting upon God.—Letter 102, 1894. (2SM 22.1) MC VC

The Example of Christ VC

Let not anyone be afraid of going to extremes while he is a close student of the Word, humbling the soul at every step. Christ must dwell in him by faith. He, their Exemplar, was self-possessed. He walked in humility. He had true dignity. He had patience. If we individually possess these traits of character, who accept justification by faith, there will be no extremists.... (2SM 22.2) MC VC

The example of Christ is before us, ever to keep the law and the gospel closely connected. They cannot be separated. Let calmness and self-possession be cultivated and perseveringly maintained, for this was the character of Christ. We hear the vehement expressions of false religionists who make bold pretensions, who talk loud and long, saying, “I am holy, I am sinless,” when they have not the least foundation for their faith. We hear no noisy protestations of faith, nor do we see tremendous bodily contortions and exercises in the Author of all truth. (2SM 22.3) MC VC

Remember in Him dwelt all the fullness of the God-head bodily. If Christ is abiding in our hearts by faith, we shall, by beholding the manner of His life, seek to be like Jesus, pure, peaceable, and undefiled. We shall reveal Christ in our character. We will not only receive and absorb light but will also diffuse it. We will have more clear and distinct views of what Jesus is to us. The symmetry, loveliness, and benevolence that were in the life of Jesus Christ will be shining forth in our lives.—Manuscript 24, 1890. (2SM 22.4) MC VC

Young Men to Unite With Experienced Workers VC

Let not the aged workers think that they must carry all the responsibilities, all the loads. New fields of labor are constantly opening before us. Let the young men unite with experienced laborers who understand the Scriptures, who have long been doers of the Word, who have brought the truth into the practical life, relying upon Christ day by day, who seek the Lord as Daniel did. Three times a day Daniel offered his petitions to God. He knew that One mighty in counsel was the source of wisdom and power. The truth as it is in Jesus—the sword of the Spirit, which cuts both ways—was his weapon of warfare. (2SM 229.1) MC VC

In word, in spirit, in principle, the men who have made God their trust are an example to the youth connected with them. These faithful servants of God are to link up with young men, drawing them with the cords of love because they are themselves drawn to them by the cords of Christ’s love.—The Review and Herald, March 20, 1900. (2SM 229.2) MC VC

Growing Old but Continuing to Testify VC

Dear Brother [G. I.] Butler (2SM 229) MC VC

I greatly desire that the old soldiers, grown gray in the Master’s service, shall continue to bear their testimony right to the point, that those younger in the faith may understand that the messages which the Lord gave us in the past are very important at this stage of the earth’s history. Our past experience has not lost one jot of its force. I thank the Lord for every jot and tittle of the Sacred Word. I would not draw back from the hard parts of our experience. (2SM 229.3) MC VC

You must not work beyond your strength. I suppose that in the future our experience will be varied; but I think that you and I in growing old in the service of Christ, in doing His will, are obtaining an experience of the highest value and most intense interest. (2SM 229.4) MC VC

The judgments of the Lord are in the land. We must work with wholehearted fidelity, putting the whole being into what we do to help others move forward and upward. Let us press the battle to the gates. Let us be ever ready to speak words of encouragement to the halting and the weary. We can walk safely only as we walk with Christ. Let nothing dampen your courage. Help those with whom you come in contact to work with fidelity. (2SM 229.5) MC VC