The morning
Manna will be provided at 6am. Thanks. Studying
Genesis in the SSnet.org series Lesson 1, may the Holy Spirit be the speaker to
your heart. The Topic today
is: "Ellen White with the promise that no matter how difficult it is the
school of character for heaven preparation"." The Opening
Hymn will be 229 "Spirit of the Living God" The Sabbath
School Quarterly, downloadable from SSnet.org in the Teacher's Edition is on
page 11 and for the laymen edition or Standard Edition, on page 12. The SSnet.org
site allows anyone, anywhere to read the lesson in their own language. Choose
your own language to see God speaking also to your heart. ---Everyone is
different. But everyone has a character that needs molding and shaping before
Heaven arrived. ---Christ is in
or with or near us constantly working towards improving our character. ---He has an
active role in this transformation. His human character on earth is the Example
towards which all humans are striving. ---Falling
short is a regular pain and shock for the Christian but one must keep looking
up to this Perfect Character of Christ. ---What will
happen if some did not attain that Perfect Character? At a certain point,
Christ put on His Perfect Character for them, says Ellen White so that they can
enter the Kingdom of God. Messages to Young People pp. 63-64. ---Character
formation is just as essential for Christianity as Justification by Faith is.
One is our status for Heaven and the other one is our fitness for heaven. ---Problem is
that George Knight in his book Pharisees tried to turn the roles cynically
around. It is cynical when you take what is biblical and expounded by Spirit of
Prophecy and try to argue that it can be the other way around. It is like
telling God how He should have done it! Justification is not a work of a
lifetime and Sanctification is not a work of a moment. Knight is not correct. ---Obedience is
a call throughout your life. Justification by Faith is the key that starts the
whole process because it is Christ our Substitute momentarily putting us on the
right course. ---Trails and
Temptations and set-backs (not spiritually though) is "building" our
character. ---What is a danger
for us is that Adventists want to follow the world to changing sayings about
God into sayings for humans. ---When they
try to create a theology without doctrine. ---A worship
without old styles. From worship the biblical way to celebration and then to
"festivals", all human creations "my [human] way". God
said: I hate your festivals (prophets). ---It is to
have a Sabbath School Time without a lesson or reading. ---Character
cannot form properly with such a milieu in congregations. ---It is a secular
theology. Not Christ-like or biblical. ---But when
Christ is seen as with us, in us shaping us moment by moment towards a goal or
image of Himself, then the power of the gospel has taken on the proper biblical
meaning because that is what true obedience is. ---Fitness is a
putting on of the Perfect Character of Christ, Ellen White said today in the
citation. Eventually everyone will be the same!