Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith. 1 Peter 5:8, 9.
Let every soul be on the alert. The adversary is on your track. Be vigilant, watching diligently lest some carefully concealed and masterly snare shall take you unawares. Let the careless and indifferent beware lest the day of the Lord come upon them as a thief in the night. Many will wander from the path of humility, and, casting aside the yoke of Christ, will walk in strange paths. Blinded and bewildered, they will leave the narrow path that leads to the city of God. . . .
He who overcomes must watch; for, with worldly entanglements, error, and superstition, Satan strives to win Christ’s followers from Him. It is not enough that we avoid glaring dangers and perilous, inconsistent moves. We are to keep close to the side of Christ, walking in the path of self-denial and sacrifice. We are in an enemy’s country. He who was cast out of heaven has come down with great power. With every conceivable artifice and device he is seeking to take souls captive. Unless we are constantly on guard we shall fall an easy prey to his unnumbered deceptions.
Everything is now clothed with a solemnity that all who believe the truth for this time should realize. They should act in reference to the day of God. The judgments of God are about to fall upon the world, and we need to be preparing for that great day.
Our time is precious. We have but few, very few days of probation in which to make ready for the future, immortal life. We have no time to spend in haphazard movements. We should fear to skim the surface of the word of God.
If your whole interest is in the truth and the preparatory work for this time you will be sanctified through the truth and receive a fitness for immortality. . . . The thorough work of preparation must go on with all who profess the truth, until we stand before the throne of God without fault, without a spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. God will cleanse you if you will submit to the purifying process.
Maranatha p. 90
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Prayer Requests
—– I am in desperate need of prayers! EB
——I lost my cousin last night. Please pray for our family. Shirley
——Please pray for safe travels for us this weekend. Pray that all goes pleasantly and well. Rose
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Dear Friends,
Before we moved to Pennsylvania, we had never seen a tick. We had heard that there was such an insect but thought that it only lived in Colorado. Well, at one time that might have been true, but by the time we moved to Pennsylvania, ticks had moved there too.
One day, as I was washing two-year-old Eileen after she had been playing outside, I noticed a little gray “sack” hanging from her armpit. I tried to pull it off, but it would not budge. Worried, I took her by the hand and walked about half a mile to the nearest neighbor. The lady took one look and explained what it was. Her husband tried everything he knew to get rid of it, but to no avail. Finally in desperation he gave a mighty tug and pulled off the tick’s body. The lady explained that if the tick’s head was not removed as well, it could travel in her blood stream and make her very sick. She drove me to the doctor to get it removed.
Sin is like that tick. It holds on even tighter than it did. Once we allow it even a tiny entrance, it takes over everything and travels through us until we are worse than sin-sick. We can fool ourselves into believing that we can stop sinning any time we want to, but when we try to get rid of tick of sin, we cannot. We can only say as did the apostle Paul, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Rom 7:24
Praise God! Paul does not stop there. He gives the answer. “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” vs 25 Yes, we have a Great Physician we can go to for help. Indeed, He longs to save us from our sins more than we long to be rid of them. He “gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Gal 1:4 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 He desires to rid us of the tick of sin before it is too late. He pleads, “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” Eze 33:11 “Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. Joel 2:12,13
May we look to our dear Saviour for the cleansing we need. May we allow Him to rid us of every sin and “live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Titus 2:12-14
Rose