October 18
The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of
"the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal." Rom. 16:25, RV
It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God's throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son,
"that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
Lucifer had said,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; . . . I will be like the Most High." Isa. 14:13, 14
But Christ,
"being in the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men." Phil. 2:6, 7, RV
Desire of Ages, page 21 from the chapter, 'God with us'
I have altered the layout of this paragraph from the original to reveal something. Our writer, Ellen White, was no fool. True, she wrote with the aid of assistants and secretaries who checked and corrected her work – but this is the work of Ellen White. This, we recognise as a prophetic voice speaking to our age.
What we see before us is a re-enactment of the heavenly dispute before earthly time began. Play and counter-play. Satan always arguing, always finding fault. Jesus always using the same ploy. He empties himself.
Today you might find yourself standing in front of a challenging situation. You are tempted to argue back. Try this method instead,
"being in the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men."
Don't be a doormat, but do follow the outline task that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit followed. Reveal the love of God.
Housekeeping details for you
The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.
A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here
From October 21st this site will continue going through 'Desire of Ages' - but begin to advance rather faster than one paragraph at a time.
Our sister site, at the Upper Room, will progress at a rather slower pace - one paragraph at a time. If you want to head to our sister site for the slower trip through an excellent book you will eventually follow a link to the Upper Room. This will start on October 21st.
