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Inner Character Revealed in Actions

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

Inner Character Revealed in Actions
Today's Text:
His master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife ... :how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? Genesis 39:7-9
The Message:

     Joseph, in the providence of God, was deprived of his happy home and the teachings and example of his God-fearing father, and his lot was cast in a family of dark heathen. There his virtue was severely tested. It is always a critical period in a young man's life when he is separated from home influences and wise counsels and enters upon new scenes and trying tests....

     God was with Joseph in his new home. He was in the path of duty, suffering wrong but not doing wrong. He therefore had the love and protection of God, for he carried his religious principles into everything he undertook. What a difference there was in Joseph's case and the case of young people who apparently force their way into the very field of the enemy, exposing themselves to the fierce assaults of Satan. Joseph suffered for righteousness' sake, while the trials of others are of their own procuring. Joseph did not conceal his religion or manly piety to avoid persecution.

     The Lord prospered Joseph, but in the midst of his prosperity came the darkest adversity. The wife of his master was a licentious woman, one who urged his steps to take hold on hell. Would Joseph yield his moral gold of character to the seductions of a corrupt woman? Would he remember that the eye of God was upon him?

     Few temptations are more dangerous or more fatal to young men than the temptation of sensuality, and none, if yielded to, will prove so decidedly ruinous to soul and body for time and eternity. The welfare of his entire future was suspended upon the decision of a moment. Joseph calmly cast his eyes to heaven for help, slipped off his loose outer garment, leaving it in the hand of his tempter, and while his eye was lighted with determined resolve in the place of unholy passion, he exclaimed, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"...

     True religion extends to all the thoughts of the mind, penetrating to all the secret thoughts of the heart, to all the motives of action, to the object and direction of the affections, to the whole framework of our lives. "Thou God seest me" will be the watchword, the guard of the life....

     But Joseph was a Christian.... He entered into the troubles of his fellow prisoners. He was cheerful, for he was a Christian gentleman. God was preparing him under this discipline for a situation of great responsibility, honor, and usefulness, and he was willing to learn ... the lessons the Lord would teach him.-Letter 3, 1879 (Manuscript Releases 4:220-223).
Commentary:

My friend, in the story of Joseph is seen what will happen to all that desire to live godly in Christ Jesus as we approach the final trials of the last days.  Satan will endeavor to lead us into sin just as he did to the children of Israel while they were on the borders of the promised land.  It was at that time that their characters were tested to see if they were connected to the One true God or if their lives were only a mere profession.

Those who come up to the final test while clinging to the doctrine of the trinity will find that their foundation is built upon sand and that it will not sustain them when it matters most.  They have looked unto a false god to form their characters and as such have received a form of godliness, but it has no power to transform their lives.

It is only as we are connected to the rock of Jesus Christ, the literal Son of God, that we are prepared to stand the trials of the last days.  Only the life that Christ lived here on this earth can transform us into His likeness.  As we invite Jesus to live in our hearts, it is through His abiding presence that we are given power to overcome sin.  This is vital in our sanctification for without Christ living in our hearts we will surely be overcome.

There are many in the church today that have been deceived into worshiping a different god than what is revealed to us in the Scriptures.  A god that is not one god, but three gods in one, while the Scriptures present before us the One true God, and His Son Jesus Christ (John 17:3).

As we approach the last days who we worship will determine our destinies for all eternity.  The Sabbath is a sign of who we worship, but it has no power to sanctify us.  It is the Lord that sanctifies us for the Scriptures tell us in Ezekiel 20:12 "Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them."  The Sabbath only seals in that which God has already sanctified, and unless we are sanctified by the One true God through Jesus Christ, no amount of Sabbath keeping will save us.

My friend, in the last days all will be tested to see what characters we have developed, to see if we are connected to the One true God through Jesus Christ or if we are connected to the god of the trinity that the whole of the Christian world worships.  To see if we are looking unto Jesus the literal Son of God, or if we are looking unto the false god of the trinity.  Who we are looking unto will mold our characters and prepare us to serve the One true God of the Bible or the triune god of the Christian world.

May you mold your character after the One true God through His Son Jesus Christ today.

God bless,
Video of the Week

The Final Protest - Who Will You Worship
The Final Protest - Who Will You Worship

This is the first in a series of videos. The Final protest is dedicated to showing that the foundation for the Ecumenical Movement, the Trinity, is not the true God of the Bible. We invite everyone to come and see for themselves and discover the beautiful truth of a Father and a Son.

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