- Foreword
- The Author
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- The Old Year and the New, January 1
- Watch and Pray, January 2
- Understanding for All, January 3
- Fervent Prayer, January 4
- The Importance of Prayer, January 5
- Prayer Lessons From Elijah, January 6
- The Model Prayer, January 7
- Prevailing Prayer, January 8
- Rooted and Grounded in Christ, January 9
- Striking Examples of Prayer, January 10
- Prayers of Form and Prayers of Faith, January 11
- Bible Religion Is Practical, January 12
- Be Conformed to the Word, January 13
- God Hears Prayers, January 14
- Pray Without Ceasing, January 15
- The Power of Prayer, January 16
- God Speaks to Us, January 17
- Bible Study Strengthens Intellect, January 18
- Personal Study Is Essential, January 19
- Jesus Reveals the Father, January 20
- A Steward's Duty, January 21
- Lay Up Treasure in Heaven, January 22
- A New Mind Will I Give You, January 23
- A Time for Prevailing Prayer, January 24
- God's Word Our Light, January 25
- The Word in Human Form, January 26
- What the Word Is to Us, January 27
- In My Name, January 28
- God Will Not Turn Away From You, January 29
- Cheerful Giving, January 30
- The Prophetic Messenger Prays, January 31
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- Holiness in the Lord, February 1
- What Do We Sacrifice for Heaven? February 2
- Grow in Grace, February 3
- Counterfeit Sanctification, February 4
- Winning Back the Erring, February 5
- The Secret of Spiritual Life, February 6
- A Living Church, February 7
- The Christian Race, February 8
- Faith Is the Victory, February 9
- Giving, a Habit Born of Love, February 10
- The Christian's Rest, February 11
- Developing a Godlike Character, February 12
- Led by the Spirit, February 13
- Adding and Multiplying, February 14
- United With Our Maker, February 15
- Heavenly Attributes, February 16
- God's Blessings and Our Responsibility, February 17
- Let Your Light Shine, February 18
- Our Need of the Holy Spirit, February 19
- Dare to Be a Daniel, February 20
- Becoming a Child of God, February 21
- Godliness With Contentment, February 22
- What Is Faith? February 23
- The Only Treasure, February 24
- God's Way, Not My Way, February 25
- Unquestioning Faith, February 26
- The Power of Song, February 27
- Truth Conquers Evil, February 28
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- Sacrifice for the Cause of God, March 1
- God Uses Us to Help Others, March 2
- Deceitfulness of Riches, March 3
- Give to God What Is His, March 4
- Liberality and Love for God's Work, March 5
- The Joy of Advancing God's Work, March 6
- What God Values, March 7
- Trust the Word, Not Feelings, March 8
- The Word Became Flesh, March 9
- What Are We Reading? March 10
- True and False Sanctification, March 11
- The Royal Family, March 12
- Choose You This Day, March 13
- The Example of Liberality, March 14
- In Christ's Steps, March 15
- God Needs Our Talents, March 16
- Receiving to Give, March 17
- First Things First, March 18
- Christian Temperance, March 19
- God's Innumerable Bounties, March 20
- Jesus' Love Seen in the Clouds, March 21
- God Revealed in Nature and Jesus, March 22
- Hidden Treasure, March 23
- Christ Connects Heaven to Earth, March 24
- God and Mammon, March 25
- What Must I Do to Be Saved? March 26
- Gathering or Scattering, March 27
- Asking to Give, March 28
- For the Mission Fields, March 29
- Privilege of Giving, March 30
- They Shall See His Face, March 31
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- The Great Supper, April 1
- Two Sons, April 2
- The Barren Fig Tree, April 3
- I Have Many Things to Say Unto You, April 4
- Wayside Hearers, April 5
- Stony-ground Hearers, April 6
- Thorny-ground Hearers, April 7
- Good-ground Hearers, April 8
- Opposition May Benefit Us, April 9
- The Rich Man, April 10
- The Laborers, April 11
- A Teacher of Righteousness, April 12
- Have You Oil in Your Lamps? April 13
- The Unfaithful Servant, April 14
- What Can Be, April 15
- Captivating Words, April 16
- The Vine and the Branches, April 17
- The Pearl of Great Price, April 18
- How Often Shall I Forgive? April 19
- The Marriage of the King's Son, April 20
- The Wedding Garment, April 21
- The Lord's Vineyard, April 22
- How Jesus Taught Truth, April 23
- The Lost Sheep, April 24
- The Prodigal Son, April 25
- The Older Brother, April 26
- The Good Samaritan, Part I, April 27
- The Good Samaritan, Part 2, April 28
- The Unjust Judge, April 29
- The Pharisee and the Publican, April 30
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- Compare the Sinner and the Righteous, May 1
- What Does the Christian Gain? May 2
- The Blessings of Benevolence, May 3
- Does God Ask Too Much? May 4
- True Christians Are Happy, May 5
- The Laodicean Church, May 6
- The Creation, May 7
- The Chance to Choose, May 8
- The Fall, May 9
- A Redeemer Is Promised, May 10
- God's Mirror, May 11
- Praise God! May 12
- A New Song, May 13
- A Short Time, May 14
- Come and Be Separate, May 15
- One Day at a Time, May 16
- Come Out From Among Them, May 17
- The Two Ways, May 18
- The Light of the World, May 19
- True Temperance Is Well-balanced Living, May 20
- Work Is a Blessing, May 21
- The Eye of the Lord Is Upon You, May 22
- Science and Revelation, May 23
- Cheerful Service, May 24
- Put God First, May 25
- A Living Church, May 26
- Rest in Christ, May 27
- Ordained to Bring Forth Fruit, May 28
- Be Separate From the World, May 29
- The Blood on the Doorpost, May 30
- There Is Work for Everyone, May 31
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- Jesus Is God, June 1
- Enmity, God's Gift, June 2
- Experiencing Forgiveness, June 3
- Strong in Christ, June 4
- Sweet Thoughts, June 5
- Today's Assignment, June 6
- Slow to Learn, June 7
- The Great Source of Truth, June 8
- Cleansing the Temple, June 9
- Jesus Loves You, June 10
- Jesus, the Fulfillment of Prophecy, June 11
- The Uplifted Savior, June 12
- The Ordinances, June 13
- Principles in Business, June 14
- A Teacher Sent From God, June 15
- Beholding Christ, June 16
- The Only Source of Truth, June 17
- Secure in Jesus' Hands, June 18
- Jesus' Convincing Power, June 19
- As a Root Out of Dry Ground, June 20
- True Riches, June 21
- Will a Man Rob God? June 22
- Remedy for Soul Poverty, June 23
- Ministry of Comfort, June 24
- Meekness, a Fruit of the Spirit, June 25
- Hungering for Righteousness, June 26
- The Fruits of Mercy, June 27
- A Friend to the Pure in Heart, June 28
- Harmony, June 29
- Seek Peace, June 30
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- Salvation Promised, July 1
- Cain and Abel Tested, July 2
- The Anger of Cain, July 3
- A More Excellent Sacrifice, July 4
- The First Promise of the Gospel, July 5
- Enoch, July 6
- Enoch and the Spirit of Prophecy, July 7
- Modern-day Enochs, July 8
- The Promise to Israel, July 9
- The Faith of Abraham, Part 1, July 10
- The Faith of Abraham, Part 2, July 11
- Heaven's Ladder, July 12
- The Lord Is in This Place, July 13
- An Example of Forgiveness, July 14
- Joseph, a Type of Christ, July 15
- Forty Years of Retraining, July 16
- The Unlearning Experience, July 17
- The Call of Moses, July 18
- Double Bondage, July 19
- God Will Surely Visit You, July 20
- God's Superior Power, July 21
- Let the Plagues Begin, July 22
- Now Lice and Flies, July 23
- Then Pestilence, Boils, and Hail, July 24
- A False Confession and Promise, July 25
- Locusts, July 26
- Darkness Over the Land, July 27
- Death of the Firstborn, July 28
- The Passover, July 29
- Christ, the Passover Lamb, July 30
- The Repairer of the Breach, July 31
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- God Fulfilled His Promises, August 1
- One Equal With God, August 2
- An Unprepared People, August 3
- The Joyful News, August 4
- Where His Voice Was Heard, August 5
- Christ as a Child, August 6
- The Father's Business, August 7
- An Example of Love, August 8
- The Youthful Jesus, August 9
- A Model for the Young, August 10
- Living the Truth, August 11
- Scripture Was Jesus' Guide, August 12
- Jesus Was From Nazareth, August 13
- By Words and by Example, August 14
- Overcoming As Christ Overcame, August 15
- Christ, the Way to Victory, August 16
- Rejected, August 17
- Revealing the Father, August 18
- Blinded by Prejudice, August 19
- Act When Opportunity Knocks, August 20
- Abundant Evidence for Faith, August 21
- The Blind Man Healed, August 22
- The Water of Life, August 23
- Quenching the Soul's Thirst, August 24
- Feeding the 5,000, August 25
- Receive to Give, August 26
- The Joy of Christ's Fellowship in Heaven, August 27
- Coworkers With Christ, August 28
- Gethsemane, August 29
- Calvary, August 30
- A Job Well Done, August 31
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- Representative Men and Women, September 1
- The Wise Men, September 2
- Nicodemus, September 3
- Full Surrender, September 4
- The Call of Elisha, September 5
- Answering God's Call, September 6
- Never Look Back, September 7
- Timothy, September 8
- Joseph, God's Unwavering Witness, September 9
- Victorious Over Temptation, September 10
- Interpreter of Dreams, September 11
- The Call of Gideon, September 12
- Growing Confidence, September 13
- Righteousness Gains the Victory, September 14
- The Need for More Trust, September 15
- Qualifications of the Chosen, September 16
- Eavesdropping, September 17
- God's Overarching Love, September 18
- God's Victory, September 19
- God Provides, September 20
- Simple Faith, September 21
- Acting on Faith, September 22
- Simple Faith Rewarded, September 23
- Daniel's Commitment to God, September 24
- An Example of Trust and Prayer, September 25
- Miraculous Transformation, September 26
- Judas and John Contrasted, September 27
- Mary's Offering, September 28
- Learning From Peter's Experience, September 29
- Peter's Restoration, September 30
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- A Twofold System of Law, October 1
- God's Eternal Law, October 2
- Glorifying God, October 3
- The Dynamic Duo, October 4
- Rest in Christ, October 5
- Onward and Upward, October 6
- Like Christ, October 7
- A New Creation, October 8
- The Purpose of Grace, October 9
- The Impact of Truth, October 10
- Christ in Light of the Law, October 11
- Walk in Christ, October 12
- Two Vital Lessons, October 13
- Would You Have Peace? October 14
- How Faith Works, October 15
- Be Honest With God, October 16
- Guided by the Holy Spirit, October 17
- Evidence of the Spirit's Work, October 18
- Lights Shining in Darkness, October 19
- Gifts of the Spirit, October 20
- Pentecost, October 21
- The Fruits of Pentecost, October 22
- Pray for God's Spirit, October 23
- The Coming Test, October 24
- Last-day Delusions, October 25
- Spiritualism and Its End, October 26
- Be on Guard, October 27
- Final Preparation, October 28
- Nearness of the End, October 29
- Fasten Your Eyes on the Future, October 30
- A Divine Command, October 31
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- The Chosen of God, November 1
- A Peculiar People, November 2
- Separation From the World, November 3
- God's People Identified, November 4
- Christ's Representatives, November 5
- Working With Christ, November 6
- The Church to Advance God's Work, November 7
- An Enlightened Church, November 8
- Someone Is at the Door, November 9
- Unity Is Essential, November 10
- A Challenge to God's Church, November 11
- God's Final Warning, November 12
- Seal of God and Mark of the Beast, November 13
- Image to the Beast, November 14
- History Repeats Itself, November 15
- Victory at Last! November 16
- Channels for the Sun of Righteousness, November 17
- Source of All Truth, November 18
- The Proclamation of God's Remnant, November 19
- The Closing Work, November 20
- Forgiveness Is Not Impossible, November 21
- Work in the Cities, November 22
- Reject Speculation, November 23
- The Holy Spirit and the Remnant, November 24
- A Holy People, November 25
- A Perfected Church, November 26
- A Reflection of Christ, November 27
- Separate From the World, November 28
- God's Temple, November 29
- Coworkers With the Church in Heaven, November 30
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- A Colorado Sunset, December 1
- John the Baptist's Example, December 2
- A Voice in the Wilderness, December 3
- Forerunner of Christ, December 4
- As in the Days of Noah, December 5
- Build an Ark, Noah, December 6
- Noah's Unwavering Obedience, December 7
- The End of Patience, December 8
- God's Sabbath, December 9
- The Sabbath in the Gospel Dispensation, December 10
- Biblical Foundation for the Sabbath, December 11
- What Is Lawful on the Sabbath? December 12
- Preparation for Jesus' Coming, December 13
- Present Duty, December 14
- Reflectors of Christ, December 15
- Decisive Action, December 16
- Heaven-filled Lives, December 17
- Honor the Giver of Gifts, December 18
- Individually Responsible, December 19
- The Latter Rain, December 20
- Accept the Invitation, December 21
- To All Nations, December 22
- The First and Second Advent, December 23
- What a Christmas Present! December 24
- The Promise Fulfilled, December 25
- A Resolution, December 26
- Change in Raiment, December 27
- Use What You Have, December 28
- The Blessed Hope, December 29
- Preparing for Heaven, December 30
- Heaven Below and Heaven Above, December 31
Foreword
In Ephesians 4:11 the apostle Paul lists five major gifts of the Holy Spirit: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White had the prophetic gift, but her life and ministry gave evidence of other gifts as well. It should be no surprise, then, that she chose not to limit the identification of her work to that of being a prophet. She once wrote, “My commission embraces the work of a prophet, but it does not end there” (Selected Messages, 1:36).FH 3.1
Mrs. White's writings may be classified into four general areas. First, there were her topical books, covering themes such as the great controversy story, education, health, evangelism, and other important subjects. Second, there were the published Testimonies for the Church that began in 1855 and continued until 1909, each addressing assorted topics. Third, there were letters, more than 5,000 of them. But this devotional book draws on material from the fourth area—her 5,000 articles in the various church journals. She wrote for all the major periodicals, starting with The Present Truth, then the Review and Herald and The Youth's Instructor, followed by Signs of the Times as well as other journals in North America. During her missionary service in Europe and Australia, her articles appeared regularly in publications in those places.FH 3.2
Throughout her prophetic service, particularly in its middle and later years, almost every week an article from her was published in one or more periodicals. These articles became her regular contact with church members. For many years they were printed on the covers of these journals. Her articles are the material of this devotional book, From the Heart.FH 3.3
Many of these articles were written specifically for publication. Some were transcriptions of sermons she preached. Others were notes of travel. Still others were accounts of her writing, especially of the controversy story. Some were letters. Some were drawn from her books, while others provided material for her books. That she was a prolific writer cannot be questioned. Her overall writing can easily be calculated at 100,000 pages. What a legacy to the church and the world!FH 3.4
Drawing on the 5,000 articles that appeared in church journals, this devotional book is evidence of the diversity of her counsel. She spoke and wrote to church leadership. She was often present when major decisions were made at General Conference sessions. She had a special burden for the ministry of the church. Her articles about Bible characters are rich with lessons for today. She also felt a deep interest in every church member. She often spoke about the use of talents, time, and money. She had a strong and supportive word for the doctrinal beliefs of the church, too. The Bible was always the foundation of what she wrote. Her rich knowledge of the Bible is evident in her articles. She strongly advocated study of the Bible, prayer, and other elements of a devotional life. Financial support in tithes and offerings was a high priority as well. And her major delight was to present the life of Christ in all its variety, including the parables.FH 3.5
Ellen White's lifetime ministry spanned more than 70 years from her first vision at age 17, in 1844, to her death at the age of 87, in 1915. There is not enough space in this book for every subject that might be covered. The topics here provide only a sampling.FH 4.1
From the Heart is the twentieth in the series of devotional books. When Ellen White prepared her final will, she instructed the appointed trustees who had care of her writings to prepare compilations from her manuscripts. Readers will be aware of many other compilations that have been prepared since her death. Without this provision in her will, much that is appropriate and helpful would not be available. Ellen White issued a number of compilations from her writings during her lifetime. The controversy theme went through several expansions. Steps to Christ was compiled by Ellen White and her staff. The Testimonies volumes represent her compiling work as well. Many other books might also be noted. And so, this book is a continuation of her practice while she lived.FH 4.2
As in other recent devotional volumes, most of Mrs. White's many generic masculine references (such as the generic “man,” “men,” and “he”) have been changed to forms that are less likely to stand out to modern readers. Some of the punctuation has been updated as well, and except in quotes from the King James Version, this book consistently uses the American form “Savior” rather than the British spelling “Saviour.” In a few instances, where a word's common meaning has changed, we have substituted an appropriate synonym.FH 4.3
Ellen White's periodical articles have been in facsimile reprint for several decades. They can be found in many private Adventist libraries as well as in churches, schools, and other facilities. Today they are also online and on CD-ROM. But never before have selections from them been brought together exclusively in a devotional book. It is our prayer that the messages in From the Heart may lead the reader closer to Jesus day by day.FH 4.4