That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:21.
We each need the help we can receive from other minds. God will work in other minds than ours. The various gifts given to different ones are to blend for the “perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12)….
The Lord Jesus Christ will heal our infirmities and our weaknesses. He owns us. We are His by creation and by redemption. We must all be united in Him. He is the only source of healing. All restoring power comes from Him. He has opened a fountain “to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.” He gives each one an invitation to come and be healed, and to drink of the water of life. Let us not trust in ourselves, but in Jesus.
There will always be obstacles before us, but we are to follow our Leader, and meet our difficulties unitedly, hand in hand. There is only one way to heaven. We must walk in the footsteps of Jesus, doing His works, even as He did the works of His Father. We must study His ways, not man’s ways; we must obey His will, not our own. Walk carefully. Do not go ahead of Christ. Make no move without consulting your Leader. Ask in humble prayer, and “ye shall receive.” He is the Way, the Truth, the Life.
Read and study carefully the prayer that Christ offered just before His trial, recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John. Follow its teachings, and you will be brought into unity. Our only hope of reaching heaven is to be one with Christ, and then, in and through Christ, we shall be one with one another. No one is called to walk alone. In Christ life and immortality are brought to light. He has opened the way to the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in Him, but He assigns to no one a path different to that which all must travel. He calls for unity, and unity we must have. God asks us to sink self in Christ. For the natural man this is not easy. But through the power of the incarnation of Christ, God manifest in the flesh, the strength of God is revealed in gentleness and beauty. To “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” By this power we may overcome our evil tendencies and so modify our imperfect dispositions that the will of God may be fulfilled in us.—Letter 79, May 7, 1903, to J. A. Burden and wife. (Elder Burden was engaged in sanitarium work in Australia.)
The Upward Look p. 141
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Requests
—-Please pray my daughter and son quit fighting, that they make up and speak to each other again. Eva
—-My mother-in-law has stage 4  pancreatic cancer. Please pray for her. Ashley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
Since he was in his teen years, Ron has had an interest in astronomy. When we lived out in the country in Washington state, he bought a used telescope. The skies were spectacular on cold, clear nights, so he would bundle up and spend many hours looking at planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies.
When the atmosphere was not good for stargazing, he would read astronomy magazines by the hour. One day, he showed me an article that explained how a reflecting telescope works. The picture I remember the clearest was one of several men polishing a huge mirror for some observatory. Ron explained that in order to reflect the image perfectly, ever flaw had to be rubbed out.
How often we feel as if we are a mirror being polished as our Maker rubs and polishes our character to remove our flaws. Many times during this process, we feel as did David when he sang, “LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people.” Ps 3
The experiences that we must pass through to make our reflection of His character clearer, are not pleasant. Our Loving Saviour rubs and polishes us until we are molded into His likeness. He says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Rev 3:19 “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Isa 48:10
Paul advises, “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Heb. 12:5-11
Through these trials that our Merciful Creator uses to polish us, we become a light to the world, reflecting the True Light even more clearly than a telescope mirror reflects the light of some distant star. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” John 8:12; Mat 5:14-16
May we “shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life.” Phil 2:15,16 May we say like Job, “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10 May Daniel’s prophecy be fulfilled in us, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” is my prayer. Dan 12:3
Rose