| Presidents of conferences, I appeal to you in the name of the Lord Jesus: “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” You are to be self-denying missionaries, men of thought, men who will pray for divine enlightenment, and who will be faithful and true to responsibilities. Sit at the feet of Jesus, and learn His will. There must be zealous activity on your part. Teach not your ideas, your plans, your notions, your maxims, but teach the word of the Lord. { TM 343.2} |
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| The part we have to act is to return to the Lord by confessing our sins to him and to one another. A broken and contrite heart he will not despise; but our self-righteousness is in his sight as filthy rags. With many, self is whole; but when they fall upon the Rock, and are broken, then the arms of Jesus will encircle them, and draw them close to his great heart of love. God will not do for us that which we can do for ourselves; but he has said, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” And when we comply with the conditions, he will fulfill his word. { GW92 440.1 } |
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| It is high time that you were deeply in earnest for your own soul and for the souls of your children. Your calling in Christ requires this. My soul is weighed down with grief, my heart is sick and sad, as I contemplate your condition; for I know that unless you are a transformed man, your anchorage will be continually shifting. Oh, “seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.” I entreat of you to humble your heart before God and never, never give over the effort till you are a different man. I feel a deep interest in your spiritual condition and want to see you striving earnestly for your own salvation and for that of your dear children, who I know are managed very much as Eli managed his children. Let all your influence be on the Lord’s side. Let your children see that you are not a creature of impulse, but a man of unwavering principle. They will copy the pattern you give them. Until I see a change in you for the better I shall continue to plead with you and exhort you. { 5T 529.3} |
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| “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” The lives of many show that they have no living connection with God. They are drifting into the channel of the world. They have, in reality, no part or lot with Christ. They love amusement and are filled with selfish ideas, plans, hopes, and ambitions. They serve the enemy under the pretense of serving God. They are in bondage to a taskmaster, and this bondage they choose, making themselves willing slaves of Satan. { 5T 540.4} |
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| The Lord has said, “Come now, and let us reason together: ... though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” [Isaiah 1:18]. “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” [Isaiah 55:6, 7]. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” [1 John 1:9, 10]. { TSB 140.2} |
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| But forgiveness has a broader meaning than many suppose. When God gives the promise that He “will abundantly pardon,” He adds, as if the meaning of that promise exceeded all that we could comprehend: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:7-9. God’s forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from condemnation. It is not only forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart. David had the true conception of forgiveness when he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. And again he says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12. Mt. of Blessings, page 114 par. 1 |
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