By John Thiel

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One thing I of the Lord desire,

I watch to shun the miry way,

And staunch the springs of guilty thought;

But, watch and struggle as I may,

Pure I am not, pure I am not.

As we were singing this hymn, does this resonate with you? You desire for your paths. You desire to be clean, pure and overcome and yet as you so desire, you watch to shun the miry way and stanch the springs of guilty thought but watch and struggle as I may, pure I am not. How do you feel about that reality? Are you sometimes on the verge of desponding that you are ever going to make it? Children, is it easy for you to do exactly what God wants you to do? Are you discovering the challenge of reaching perfection? This meditation we are about to engage in is for you. As historic seventh day Adventists, Adventists of the old school, we believe do we not in sinless perfection? That is what we are reaching out for are we not? That is the doctrine of seventh day Adventism to come through the time of the judgement and have our characters pure, the books of record there with the perfection of Christian character in place. Where is the doctrine written? Is that scriptural? Firstly the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 where Jesus says plainly and simply: