There are two approaches to being a God-fearer. The first method is simply to obey and keep on obeying. We read, we study and gain lots of knowledge putting all that we have into practice in our lives. It appears possible to do this, the rich young ruler in the parable could say to Jesus he kept all of the commandments. There were the people in the story Jesus told who hear the words, ‘I never knew you’, despite the great and good works they had done.

The key issue in this short reading is to know Jesus, to abide in Jesus.

Can I ask you to do something special today? I would love you to read the whole of the last chapter of Christ’s Object Lessons, the link is here, Ellen White spends time looking at the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, and at the end calls to us and describes our task. We are to reveal to the world the true character of God. We are to do this by giving practical help to others (because that is what God would have done) and we are to reveal a cheerful countenance (because that is entirely in God’s character).

How can we get this?

           "the indwelling of the Spirit will be shown by the outflowing of heavenly love.”

                   Christ’s Object Lessons    p.419   

We want to show the outflow of heavenly love. The answer to the need is to be indwelt by the Spirit. Ask for the Holy Spirit again – today. God then gives you that which you need to do God’s will from the heart, not just the receptive and obedient memory of the virgin without the oil in her lamp.