“A Time of Trouble”

When the third angel’s message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their work…. The final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received “the seal of the living God.” Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His hands, and with a loud voice says, “It is done.” …

God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble…. The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress described by the prophet as the time of Jacob’s trouble.88The Great Controversy, 613, 614, 616.

Those only who have clean hands and pure hearts will stand in that trying time. Now is the time for the law of God to be in our minds, foreheads, and written in our hearts…. What leisure time we have should be spent in searching the Bible, which is to judge us in the last day….

Let the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ be in your minds continually and let them crowd out worldly thoughts and cares. When you lie down and when you rise up, let them be your meditation. Live and act wholly in reference to the coming of the Son of man. The sealing time is very short, and will soon be over. Now is the time, while the four angels are holding the four winds, to make our calling and election sure.89Early Writings, 58.
The Faith I Live By p. 330
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for a church member which taken to the emergency where they found a huge mass in his stomach. Pray that it is not cancer. His name is Harry. Mary
—-Need healing prayers for Chailyn, pains in her stomach. Alexandra
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Dear Friends,

From the time Ronnie Jay was aware that there was such a thing as the out-of-doors, he loved to be outside. From the time he was three months old until he was two, we lived in a garage apartment, so going outside was not something he could do by himself or even with his big sister Eileen who was seven years older than he. Navigating those wooden stairs would have been a disaster. I took him outside as often as I could, but there were housekeeping and cooking chores that occupied most of my time. That did not deter him from longing to escape the confines of the apartment. Often he would stand at the screen door (which I always kept locked) and gaze at the playground across the street. We used to laugh and say that the look in his eyes was like that of a caged lion, wistfully remembering his days of freedom.

As he grew older, we moved where he was able to go outside and play. What a joy that was for him! Even now that he is an adult, he often sends photos of some of the places he goes or of some creature he has found.

Just as Ronnie Jay has never been happy to be cooped up inside, but looked wistfully to the natural world, so we are to be discontent with this sinful, old planet and yearn for that glorious kingdom our Dear Saviour is preparing for us. Just as my son’s focus was on something better than a small, garage apartment or even a larger home, so our focus should be as was Abraham’s. He looked past the present and focused on “a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb 11:10 Our Dear Saviour assures us, “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 Precious promise!

Isaiah was given a glimpse of that place where “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Cor 2:9 He tells us, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing. . . .Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.” “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. . . . And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. . . . And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.” Isa 35:1, 5-7; 65:21-25;11:6-8

John also saw that Heavenly Land which awaits us, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; . . 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. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. . . . 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: . . .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 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, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 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. . . .And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. . . . He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Rev 21; 22

Rose