You have no time to lose. Make mighty efforts to rescue yourself from Satan’s snare. You need to learn of Jesus, who is meek and lowly of heart, and then you will obtain rest. Oh, what a work you have to do to perfect holiness in the fear of God, and be prepared for the society of the pure and holy angels. You need to humble your heart before God, and seek meekness and righteousness, that you may be hid in the day of the Lord’s fierce anger. (2T 222.1) MC VC

Brother B, the Lord let His blessing rest upon you last spring; but you did not see the relation which watchfulness and prayer sustain to a progress in the divine life. You have neglected these duties, and the result is that darkness has enshrouded you. You have been in a state of uncertainty and distrust, and have frequently chosen the society of those who are in darkness, those whom Satan uses to scatter from Christ. You could live among the most corrupt, and remain unstained, unsullied, if God in His providence thus directed you. But it is dangerous for those who wish to honor God to find their pleasure and entertainment with companions who fear Him not. Satan ever surrounds such with great darkness; and if those who profess Christ go unbidden into this darkness, they tempt the devil to tempt them. If, in order to do good and glorify His name, the Lord requires us to go among infernal spirits, where is the blackest darkness, He will encircle us with His angels and keep us unsullied. But if we seek the company of sinners, and are pleased with their coarse jests, and entertained and amused with their stories, sports, and ribaldry, the pure and holy angels remove their protection and leave us to the darkness we have chosen. (2T 222.2) MC VC

Brother B, I wish to alarm you; I wish to arouse you to action. I wish to entreat of you to seek God while He invites you to come to Him that you may have life. “Watch, pray, work,” are the Christian’s watchwords. Satan is vigilant in his efforts; his perseverance is untiring, his zeal earnest and unabated. He does not wait for his prey to come to him; he seeks for it. To wrench souls from the hand of Christ is his determined purpose; yet professed Christians are asleep in their blindness, insane in their pursuits. God is not in their thoughts. A vigilant foe is upon their track; yet they are in no danger while they make God their trust. But unless they do this, their strength will be weakness, and they will be overcome by Satan. (2T 222.3) MC VC