A Straight Message

Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. Amos 4:12, last part.
John the Baptist in his desert life was taught of God. He studied the revelations of God in nature. Under the guiding of the divine Spirit, he studied the scrolls of the prophets. By day and by night, Christ was his study, his meditation, until mind and heart and soul were filled with the glorious vision. He looked upon the King in His beauty, and self was lost sight of. He beheld the majesty of holiness, and knew himself to be inefficient and unworthy. It was God’s message that he was to declare. It was in God’s power and His righteousness that he was to stand. He was ready to go forth as Heaven’s messenger, unawed by the human, because he had looked upon the Divine….
With no elaborate arguments or fine-spun theories did John declare his message. Startling and stern, yet full of hope, his voice was heard from the wilderness, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” … Unlearned peasants and fishermen from the surrounding country; the Roman soldiers from the barracks of Herod; chieftains with their swords at their sides, ready to put down anything that might savor of rebellion; the avaricious tax-gatherers from their toll-booths; and from the Sanhedrim the phylactered priests,—all listened as if spellbound; and all … went away … cut to the heart with a sense of their sins….
In this age, just prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, such a work as that of John is to be done. God calls for men who will prepare a people to stand in the great day of the Lord…. As a people who believe in Christ’s soon coming, we have a message to bear,—“prepare to meet thy God.” Our message must be as direct as was the message of John. He rebuked kings for their iniquity. Notwithstanding that his life was imperiled, he did not hesitate to declare God’s word. And our work in this age must be done as faithfully.
In order to give such a message as John gave, we must have a spiritual experience like his. The same work must be wrought in us. We must behold God, and in beholding Him, lose sight of self.
Conflict and Courage p. 272
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for my father-in-law, Larry. He has severe pain in his right hip and is hospitalized for tests. He has high pain tolerance but even the strongest pain medicine barely touches it. Also his brother-in-law, Art, fell while taking a walk yesterday and had to be taken to the ER as his leg is numb. Please keep both families in prayer as well as they are very upset and stressed. Eileen
—–Please pray for my family. My husband is not Adventist and has been telling my son behind my back that Ellen White is a false prophet. M
—–Please pray for God’s direction in a certain matter. L
—–My great nephew & his wife’s son, Liam, has an appointment with the cardiologist tomorrow. He has spells where he turns blue. He sees a pulmonologist, cardiologist & allergist. They can’t seem to find an answer. Liam is 3 years old. He’s had a fight since his birth with one thing after another. Please pray for him. Charlie
—–Please continue prayers, for my husband and I.
God knows the situation, does not seem to be getting better but worse. Husband was asked to leave the house tonight by the police.
I am extremely worried about both of us. Kimberly
—–I desperately need your prayers for my nephew Julian he is 16 yrs very rebellious towards his mom answering back and not acknowledging her for anything and telling her he doesn’t need her and he wants to left alone…please prayer our God intervention… this is all a surprise to the family we are in shock….also please pray for my niece which is ten years old which also is been affected by all this chaos at home…please pray for my sister marriage….. Jenny
—–Please pray for Frank who fell and hurt his hip and is scheduled for surgery on the hip today. Michelle
—–A prayer request for Judah, Anita just took him to the hospital was complaining of a very bad stomach pain could not stop crying praying for healing and breaking any negative words or witchcraft thank you PW
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Dear Friends,
Even before Ron and I had children, we determined that if at all possible, we would not take them to a babysitter. We were very serious about bringing “them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Eph 6:4 Throughout the years, we found that there were times when we had to let someone else watch our children, but for the most part, we “juggled” our schedules in such a way that one of us was home to train up our children in the way that they should go.
For awhile, I worked at a fast food restaurant from 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM. Working nights was hard for me and I got little sleep but felt it was worth being home with my children during the day. At work, I did all of the baking, sliced the vegetables, and had various other duties some of which I found most unpleasant.
One of the least favorite part of my job was using the large slicing machine. I was really afraid of the whirling blade. I have never been very coordinated, and I was afraid that my fingers as well and the food might get sliced. The onions posed the greatest danger. They were very strong and would always sting my eyes so badly, that tears would course down my cheeks and I could not keep my eyes open no matter how hard I tried. Running a slicing machine with closed eyes is a very dangerous thing to do.
When I told Ron about my problem, he suggested that I take his skin diving mask to work and use it when slicing those strong onions. That worked very well! I looked very silly, but I didn’t care. At least the fumes from the onions didn’t bother me any more.
Just as that mask protected my eyes from the fumes of those strong smelling onions, so our Loving Redeemer has provided us with a protection from the onslaughts of the enemy. Daily, we are to “put on the whole armour of God, that [we] may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Eph 6:11-17 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb 4:12