"In These Hours of Probation"

[devotional at egwlists.whiteestate.org]

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    Ellen G. White Estate, Devotional for July 28
    Visit us at http://www.whiteestate.org
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"In These Hours of Probation"

I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I 
succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of 
salvation. 2 Cor. 6:2. 


We believe without a doubt that Christ is soon coming. This is not a fable to 
us; it is a reality. We have no doubt, neither have we had a doubt for years, 
that the doctrines we hold today are present truth, and that we are nearing 
the judgment. We are preparing to meet Him who, escorted by a retinue of holy 
angels, is to appear in the clouds of heaven to give the faithful and the just 
the finishing touch of immortality. When He comes He is not to cleanse us of 
our sins, to remove from us the defects in our characters, or to cure us of 
the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, 
this work will all be accomplished before that time. When the Lord comes, 
those who are holy will be holy still. Those who have preserved their bodies 
and spirits in holiness, in sanctification and honor, will then receive the 
finishing touch of immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and 
filthy will remain so forever. No work will then be done for them to remove 
their defects and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to 
pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This 
is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now that this work is to 
be accomplished for us. 

We embrace the truth of God with our different faculties, and as we come under 
the influence of that truth, it will accomplish the work for us which is 
necessary to give us a moral fitness for the kingdom of glory and for the 
society of the heavenly angels. We are now in God's workshop. Many of us are 
rough stones from the quarry. But as we lay hold upon the truth of God, its 
influence affects us. It elevates us and removes from us every imperfection 
and sin, of whatever nature. Thus we are prepared to see the King in His 
beauty and finally to unite with the pure and heavenly angels in the kingdom 
of glory. It is here that this work is to be accomplished for us, here that 
our bodies and spirits are to be fitted for immortality. 


>From Maranatha - Page 222