A Place in Line

The lips of the righteous feed many. Proverbs 10:21.
Notwithstanding the prevailing iniquity, there was a line of holy men who, elevated and ennobled by communion with God, lived as in the companionship of heaven. They were men of massive intellect, of wonderful attainments. They had a great and holy mission—to develop a character of righteousness, to teach a lesson of godliness, not only to the men of their time, but for future generations. Only a few of the most prominent are mentioned in the Scriptures; but all through the ages God had faithful witnesses, truehearted worshipers.
How often those who trusted the word of God, though in themselves utterly helpless, have withstood the power of the whole world—Enoch, pure in heart, holy in life, holding fast his faith in the triumph of righteousness against a corrupt and scoffing generation; Noah and his household against the men of his time, men of the greatest physical and mental strength and the most debased in morals; the children of Israel at the Red Sea, a helpless, terrified multitude of slaves, against the mightiest army of the mightiest nation on the globe; David, a shepherd lad, having God’s promise of the throne, against Saul, the established monarch, bent on holding fast his power; Shadrach and his companions in the fire, and Nebuchadnezzar on the throne; Daniel among the lions, his enemies in the high places of the kingdom; Jesus on the cross, and the Jewish priests and rulers forcing even the Roman governor to work their will; Paul in chains led to a criminal’s death, Nero the despot of a world empire.
Such examples are not found in the Bible only. They abound in every record of human progress. The Vaudois and the Huguenots, Wycliffe and Huss, Jerome and Luther, Tyndale and Knox, Zinzendorf and Wesley, with multitudes of others have witnessed to the power of God’s word against human power and policy in support of evil. These are the world’s true nobility. This is its royal line. In this line the youth of today are called to take their places.4
Conflict and Courage p. 9
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Prayer Requests
—–update— The surgery that was meant to clear the blockage Abigail has been suffering with was not successful last week. The physicians are non-plussed as to what to do, and the physician in _____ who has overseen Abigail from the beginning is now even stating to the parents that the long-term solution will be a second liver transplant! Two days ago the port of her pick line (line going into her arm to relay platelets) was cracked. Her surgery is postponed, the parents do not know how long. Her parents have been with her 24 7 and are feeding her, although her Daddy seems to feel in the past few days that she is eating less and less. Needless to say, the parents as well are exhausted, emotionally and physically, as they are her main caregivers under such trying circumstances, over a year after their first time going through all of this in exactly the same hospital, 6 hours away from their home. Only our Heavenly Father knows how this all will end. Debby
—–Please pray for my great-grand-nephew, Elijah, who fell and got a concussion. Rose
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Dear Friends,
When I was a teenager, I used to like to take long walks on the weekends. My mother, although very tired from working hard all week, would often go with me. We used to walk past my school, which was 2 1/2 miles from our house, and continue on into a section of town where the very rich lived. The houses were huge and the lawns expansive. Some were nestled in a stand of trees and others seemed to be on display. I used to imagine, as we walked by them, what it must be like to live in one of those houses. It seemed like the people in those houses had no worries as to where the money would come for their next meal, no cares about how to pay the bills. In my imaginings the people there lived in constant happiness and bliss.
Of course now I realize that those people had just as many problems as my mother and I did: they just had a different set of problems. In this life each person is filled with cares and perplexities, but Jesus points us to a better place, a place where there is joy forevermore. He says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3 What wonderful news! Our Dear Saviour is preparing a home for us that far surpasses any earthly dwelling! Even the most superb mansion on this sinful, old planet pales in comparison.
I God’s Holy Word, we are given a glimpse of the New Jerusalem that gives us a little taste of what our Heavenly home will be like. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. . . . He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. . . . And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal, And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare. . . . And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. . . . And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. . . . And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. . . . And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true. . . . Behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be….Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Rev 21:1-22:14
May we long for that city as did Abraham, for we are told that “he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb 11:10
Rose