Paul chose to list gentleness as one of the fruits of the Spirit. David also placed this character quality in close relationship with the salvation God had given him when he wrote, ?Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great? (2 Samuel 22:36). Concerning this fruit of the Spirit Ellen White wrote, ?True gentleness is a gem of great value in the sight of God? (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 536).

The fruit of gentleness includes the quality of kindness. It brings a mellowing of all that would be harsh. The one who possesses this fruit will never look down on others, regardless of their position in life, whether rich or poor, educated or uneducated, rough in manner or gracious. It also gives the believer mildness of temper, a calm and quiet yet cheerful disposition. Paul referred to this disposition when he wrote, ?Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves? (Philippians 2:3). This character quality will lead its possessor to be thoughtful and courteous toward others, which God can use as a powerful witness. This is why Ellen White wrote, ?If we would humble ourselves before God, and be kind and courteous and tenderhearted and pitiful, there would be one hundred conversions to the truth where now there is only one? (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 189).

A principle of Bible interpretation states that worldwide events are often symbolized by local events. This is also called typology, in which one event is a type, or symbol, of another. A very striking application of this principle occurs in the prophecies we have been studying in this book.

In the Old Testament, when God called Israel out of literal Babylon, He took them back to Jerusalem on Mount Zion. They began rebuilding the wall and, later, the temple. You can read about this in Nehemiah and in other Old Testament history.

In the New Testament, we find the same scenario. Today, God is calling His children out of Babylon (Revelation 18:2, 4). When they heed God?s call and come out of Babylon, they figuratively go to Mount Zion in Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). As has been shown in this chapter, those who respond to God?s call begin rebuilding the temple (Ephesians 2:19?22; 1 Peter 2:5). They also begin to repair the wall, which applies to God?s law.

Revelation 16:15 significantly says, ?Blessed is he that . . . keepeth his garments.? Only those who keep their garments will avoid being gathered to Armageddon. Only those who experience righteousness by faith in Christ as a sin-pardoning Savior and sin-delivering Savior will be saved. Personally experiencing the gospel of righteousness by faith in Christ alone will enable God?s people to be able to stand in the day of Christ?s return. All others will be destroyed.

This can happen to the fullest only when we are filled with God?s Holy Spirit through surrendering to His will. The Spirit writes God?s law in our hearts. By the Spirit, Christ lives in us and fulfills the righteousness of the law in us, causing us to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh (Romans 8:4).

Seeing the great issues involved with the teaching of Armageddon, is it any wonder Satan wants God?s people to look to literal Israel in Palestine for its fulfillment? Misunderstanding God?s last-day, three angels? messages makes one vulnerable to Satan?s deceptions.

In speaking of His preexistence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up with Him.

Christ?s words were spoken with a quiet dignity and with an assurance and power that sent conviction to the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees. They felt the power of the message sent from heaven. God was knocking at the door of their hearts, entreating entrance.

He was equal with God, infinite and omnipotent. . . . He is the eternal, self-existent Son.

In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ?He that hath the Son hath life? (1 John 5:12). The divinity of Christ is the believer?s assurance of eternal life. ?He that believeth in me,? said Jesus, ?though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.? . . . Christ here looks forward to the time of His second coming.?Lift Him Up, p. 17.

The prologue to the Gospel of John?John 1:1?18?begins and ends with a description of the divine nature of the Word as Creator God in relation to God. The rest of the prologue describes the Word as a human in this world, specifically identifying the Word as Jesus Christ (verse 17). As such, it is a fitting beginning to a book with the stated goal of leading the reader to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him, one ?may have life? (John 20:31).

John first introduces the eternal Word as the fully divine Creator (John 1:1?3) before continuing with this same Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us (verse 14). Most of the book is devoted to showing the Word acting and interacting in flesh: performing the signs, revealing the love and sovereignty of God to us, going through the Passion and on to the cross as our Savior, and in the finale, assuring and empowering His disciples, then and now, to bear witness to His actions for us and His interactions with us.

Jesus appeared on the scene. Martha asked her burning question, ?Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask? (John 11:21, 22). Jesus, where were You when I needed You?

That day, Jesus did the impossible: He raised Lazarus to life. His compassion and love for the sisters reinforced and multiplied. And His power over death was a staggering proof of His divinity. Now, we await the day when He will do that for our loved ones. Revelation 2:7 shares, ?To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.? And I believe that day will be soon!

We do have something that lasts. It is the same covenant Jesus made with Adam and Eve, Abraham, and Moses. He came to earth to carry it out, and now we share the same hope of a risen Lord?this same Jesus will come again! So I urge you to choose Jesus. His covenant of love is the only thing that lasts. He is reaching out to us?offering something that lasts.

God is so good to us. He warns us that there is an emergency coming, and promises that if we prepare for His coming, we don?t have to be worried. There is a lot of chaos, confusion, and trying times right now. Yet living in chaos is where ?God moments? stand out. Otherwise, we might lose hope that God is with us in everything.

Somehow Abram was thrown off of remembering God?s promises as he looked at the situation in front of him. Momentarily, Abram got distracted, and when he reached Egypt, he told Sarai to say she was his sister, and soon, Sarai was taken into Pharaoh?s palace (verse 15). Thankfully, Abraham was still growing in his trust of God and God didn?t hold this against him. Soon Sarai was returned unharmed. Later on, in Abraham?s story, Abimelek said to Abraham, ?God is with you in everything you do? (Genesis 21:22). This is a great promise to claim for our lives as we grow in our trust of God too.

Sin may rock you to sleep, but it is not a restful sleep. Matthew Henry observed, ?Sin brings storms and tempests into the soul, into the family, into churches and nations; it is a disquieting, disturbing thing.? You may forget sin is there. You may forget you were ever holding on to it. Others may forget you were ever holding on to it. But God remembers. If we pray to be changed, He will lead us to repentance. In Jonah?s case, God wanted to point it out because the fate of a whole nation was at stake.

Do you want peace in your life or do you want to hold on to difficulties? Philippians 3:12 urges, ?Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not count myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.? Like Paul, I urge you to let go and accept the peace God freely offers instead.

Are you holding on to something you shouldn?t? Unclench your fist, go running to God, and leave it in His more-than-capable hands.

Having been discouraged by the bad report of the ten spies, the hearts of the people were already resigned to the impossibilities of the conquest. And the ten spies bearing the evil report would not be moved. Forgetting that God had delivered them from slavery, brought them through the Red Sea, and given them victory over the Amalekites, they persisted in discouraging Israel from moving forward.

The Bible reports, ?And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!? (Numbers 14:2). ?In their unbelief they [Israel] limited the power of God and distrusted the hand that had hitherto safely guided them.? And what could God do then? Reward their lack of faith? Hardly!

We can only imagine the wonder and anger that must have filled God?s heart as He looked down upon His unbelieving children who were so close and yet so far from reaching their promised home. ?How long will this people provoke Me?? He asked Moses. ?How long will it be before they trust My word? How many signs and wonders do I have to show them to prove that I can take care of them and give them victory over their enemies??

If you find your devotional time interrupted by thoughts of your long to-do list or other unrelated thoughts, instead of feeling guilty, just take a second and jot them down on a separate sheet of paper so that you can remember them after your devotional time is over.

Admittedly, for those with young children, finding quality time alone is always a struggle. If you can?t manage to wake up before your children do, or you don?t have help from a spouse in giving you some undistracted quiet time, just do the best you can with what time you have. It may not be ideal, but remember that God always honors our sincere efforts. Even if it?s just a few minutes here and there, He can multiply the blessing just as He multiplied the loaves and fishes.

On the other hand, if our lack of quality devotional time is due to laziness or mismanaged priorities, we shouldn?t expect God to make up the difference. He?s asking us to put Him first, not just in theory but literally. Once we start doing this, everything else in our day will fit together!

Spiritual life must be sustained by communion with Christ through His Word. The mind must dwell upon it, the heart must be filled with it. The Word of God laid up in the heart and sacredly cherished and obeyed, through the power of the grace of Christ can make man right, and keep him right.?God?s Amazing Grace, p. 228.

Jesus did not gratify their curiosity. He sadly said, ?Ye seek Me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.? They did not seek Him from any worthy motive; but as they had been fed with the loaves, they hoped still to receive temporal benefit by attaching themselves to Him. The Saviour bade them, ?Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.? Seek not merely for material benefit. Let it not be the chief effort to provide for the life that now is, but seek for spiritual food, even that wisdom which will endure unto everlasting life. This the Son of God alone can give; ?for Him hath God the Father sealed.??The Desire of Ages, p. 384.

One of the themes of the Gospel of John is that Jesus knows human thought and intent. This is illustrated in the conversation with the crowd when they caught up with Jesus the next day. Recognizing their objective, He took control of the conversation, saying, ?Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him? (verse 27).

The crowd asked how they could do the works of God. Jesus answered, ?This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent? (verse 29).

The crowd then asked, ?What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ?He gave them bread from heaven to eat? ? (verses 30, 31).

Imagine! Jesus had just fed the five thousand the day before, and now they asked for a sign that they might believe! The lesson is inescapable: we believe, and then we see the miracles. Faith is not based upon empirical verification. We see miracles when we come with eyes of faith. This miracle of feeding the five thousand helps John make the case that Jesus, the humble carpenter, is indeed the promised Messiah.