God will prepare the mind to recognise Him who alone can help the striving, struggling soul. All who stand under His banner He will educate to be faithful stewards of His grace. God has given man immortal principles, to which every human power must one day bow. He has given us truth in trust. The precious beams of this light are not to be hid under a bushel, but are to give light to all that are in the house. Truth, imperishable truth, is to be made prominent. Show those with whom you come in contact that the truth is of consequence to you. It means much to you to stand by the principles which will live through the eternal ages.PrT September 14, 1899, par. 1

God has given every man talents, that His name may be exalted, not that man may be lauded and praised, honoured and glorified, while the Giver is forgotten. All have been entrusted with God's gifts, from the lowest and most poverty stricken, to the highest and wealthiest, who walk in haughty pride. To every man have been given physical, mental, and moral powers. Let none waste their God-given time in regrets that they have only one talent. Spend every moment in using the talents which you have. They are the Lord's, to be returned to Him. It is not your own property you are handling, but the Lord's. One day He will come, to receive His own with usury. Faithfully fulfil your appointed stewardship, that you may meet Him in peace.PrT September 14, 1899, par. 2

Have we consecrated all our talents to God? We cannot be excused in withholding one from Him. Reason is a precious gift. Do not abuse it; for God can remove it. The gift of speech is a valuable talent. Never despise or undervalue this gift. Thank God for entrusting it to you. It is a precious gift, to be sanctified, elevated, and ennobled.PrT September 14, 1899, par. 3

As a sacred trust the voice should be used to honour God. It should never utter harsh, impure words, or words of fault-finding. The Gospel of Christ is to be proclaimed by the voice. With the talent of speech we are to communicate the truth as we have opportunity. It should ever be used in God's service; but this talent is grievously abused. Words are spoken which do great harm. Christ declared, “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”PrT September 14, 1899, par. 4

Money is a talent, which is to be placed in God's treasury, for investment in His cause. Are we as individuals searching the Word of God carefully and prayerfully, lest we shall depart from its precepts and requirements? The Lord will not look upon us with pleasure if we withhold anything, small or great, that should be returned to Him. If we desire to spend money to gratify our own inclinations, let us think of the good we might do with that money. If we spend selfishly the means so much needed, the Lord does not, cannot bless us with His commendation.PrT September 14, 1899, par. 5

God keeps a faithful account with every human being in our world. And when the day of reckoning comes, the faithful steward takes no credit to himself. He does not say, “My pound;” but “Thy pound has gained other pounds.” He knows that without the entrusted gift no increase could have been made. He feels that in faithfully discharging his stewardship, he has but done his duty. The capital was the Lord's, and by his power he was enabled to trade upon it successfully. His name only should be glorified. Without the entrusted capital he knows that he would have been bankrupt for eternity. The approval of the Lord is received almost with surprise, it is so unexpected. But Christ says to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”PrT September 14, 1899, par. 6

God calls upon us to work for Him in a world of sin, where men are given to idolatry. They have no thought of their obligations to their Creator. They act as if they had created themselves and their blessings. God bestows His bounties on the evil and the good. To all He gives sunshine and showers of rain. He carefully watches the seed put into the soil, that from it may spring the living germ. But very few have any realisation of the blessing bestowed on them from day to day. Still less do they realise the greatness of the gift of God's only begotten Son. If they only comprehended the sacrifice made in order that our world might be blessed with the light of truth, how many conversions would be made in a day! How many would rally round the standard of the Redeemer!PrT September 14, 1899, par. 7

A heavenly watcher marks our words and deportment, and reads the motives that prompt us to action. We have no time now to be idle and indifferent. We must strive to develop a Christian character. Our spiritual understanding must be cleansed, purified, sanctified, and ennobled. All are now taking sides. It is ours now to choose a blessing or a curse. Now is the time for us to purify our minds by obeying the truth.PrT September 14, 1899, par. 8

Christ is to be our example in all things. He alone has the power to reclaim truth from the rubbish under which it had been buried, causing it to shine forth in its original loveliness. In His parables, in order that He might awaken interest and sympathy, He drew His illustrations from the things of nature. Plucking a lily in its glowing beauty, He said, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” In all His teaching Christ sought to impress His hearers that all true knowledge leads heavenward, and that all nature's lessons, rightly understood and interpreted, are the lessons of the Creator.PrT September 14, 1899, par. 9

There is a great work to be done in our world and Christian educators are needed, men and women who are partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. These can enter cities and towns, and there plant the standard of truth, glorifying God by humility and faith, by a faithful performance of every duty. In the work to be done in the Lord's vineyard discouragements will come, but these may prove instructive to the worker, teaching him to wait patiently, and endure trial nobly. Those who keep God's glory in view will not fail nor be discouraged.PrT September 14, 1899, par. 10

The Lord needs men who are true, who will not seek for promotion, whose course of action is marked by self-sacrifice. The nature of our trust demands that self be best in Christ; that in the daily life we seek to imitate in the very best way possible the Christ-life. All sin, from the least to the greatest, may be overcome by the Holy Spirit's power. God desires us to lift up the Saviour as one who has been crucified among us. We are to think and talk of Christ, praising and magnifying His name. As servants of God we need to put away all self-importance, and abide in Christ, taking not one jot or tittle of credit to ourselves. If we are abiding in Christ, we shall reveal Him in character. Thus we become channels through which God can communicate light. We are made workers together with God.PrT September 14, 1899, par. 11

Mrs. E. G. White.

September 7, 1899

November 2, 1899