November 3, 2022 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Ted Wilson (TW): Greetings, friends. Today we will continue our series from Thoughts From the Mountain of Blessing as we hear the wonderful words of Jesus teaching us how we can have the peace and joy of heaven in our hearts and be the bright lights He intends for us to be.
And if you would like to follow along in this wonderful book each week, I encourage you to download a free copy at egwwritings.org [Insert: egwwritings.org] where it is available in multiple languages.
Nancy Wilson (NW): As we look around today, it seems the world is quickly growing colder and darker. Wars are raging. Political unrest is rising. Harsh, hateful words rear their ugly presence across the internet. Relationships are strained. Families are crumbling. Thoughts of self, filled with pride and revenge, are becoming more and more prominent. How far have human beings fallen from God’s plans for us! How far is all of this from the kind of people God calls us to be.
TW: Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” And yet, showing mercy and forgiveness does not come naturally to the human heart, which, according to the Bible, is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). Nevertheless, when we experience the mercy and forgiveness that God has shown to each of us, our hearts should melt with compassion for those who need our forgiveness and mercy. The apostle John reminds us that “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
NW: In the beautiful book Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, we read that “God is Himself the source of all mercy. . . . He does not treat us according to our desert. He does not ask if we are worthy of His love, but He pours upon us the riches of His love, to make us worthy. He is not vindictive. He seeks not to punish, but to redeem” (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 22).
TW: Through His grace, God calls us to be like Him, seeking to save the lost, showing mercy and compassion to others, including the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed. Ellen White tells us, “There are many to whom life is a painful struggle; they feel their deficiencies and are miserable and unbelieving; they think they have nothing for which to be grateful. . . . A word of sympathy, an act of kindness, would lift burdens that rest heavily upon weary shoulders. And every word or deed of unselfish kindness is an expression of the love of Christ for lost humanity” (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 23). Let us pray each day that the Lord will open our eyes to see those who need the mercy and compassion we can bring to them through Jesus.
NW: During the time of Christ, the Jewish leaders were very concerned about outward purity. They made hundreds of rules and regulations that were to be followed if a person wanted to be ceremonially pure.
TW: But this is not the kind of purity Jesus was talking about when He said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Rather than being concerned about mere outward appearances, God cares far more about the heart, the mind, and the motivations for what we do. When He lives in our heart, there will be a purity and refinement in our thoughts and actions, and the world will know that we “have been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
NW: When we think of purity, we might think of being free from sensuality and lust, and while that is a part of purity, we are told that Jesus was going deeper—that is, being “true in the hidden purposes and motives of the soul, free from pride and self-seeking, humble, unselfish, [and] childlike” (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 25). Perhaps this is why Jesus said that unless we become as “little children” we will “by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3).
TW: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God,” said Jesus (Matt. 5:9). “Christ is the Prince of Peace . . . and it is His mission to restore to earth and heaven the peace that sin has broken” (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 27). If ever there was a time that peace was needed in this world, and in our lives, it is now. When we accept Jesus, confess our sins and accept His forgiveness, He gives us His wonderful peace. And when we accept Christ’s peace, He transforms us and helps us to be at peace with others.
NW: Christ calls His children to be peacemakers like Him. Ellen White writes, “Christ’s followers are sent to the world with the message of peace. Whoever, by the quiet, unconscious influence of a holy life, shall reveal the love of Christ; whoever, by word or deed, shall lead another to renounce sin and yield his heart to God, is a peacemaker” (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 28).
TW: Friends, would you like to be a peacemaker, pure in heart, filled with Christ’s mercy and love? You can be. Jesus invites you and me today to be filled with His transforming Spirit so that we can shine brightly for Him, bringing a bit of heaven into this dark world. Let’s pray to Him just now. Father in heaven, we longed to be peacemakers, to be people who can bring light into a dark environment. Lord, use each one of us not through our own power, but as we connect with heaven, the source of all light, the source of all goodness, so that truly we can help to be peacemakers, those who bring encouragement and light to the hearts of others all through connection with heaven. Now, Lord, take us and use us. We are in your hands. Thank you for hearing us in this prayer. In Jesus name, we ask it. Amen.