Who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap. Malachi 3:2.
The people of Israel, because of their sinfulness, were forbidden to approach the mount when God was about to descend upon it to proclaim His law, lest they should be consumed by the burning glory of His presence. If such manifestations of His power marked the place chosen for the proclamation of God’s law, how terrible must be His tribunal when He comes for the execution of these sacred statutes. How will those who have trampled upon His authority endure His glory in the great day of final retribution? . . .
When the divine Presence was manifested upon Sinai, the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire. . . . But when Christ shall come in glory with His holy angels the whole earth shall be ablaze with the terrible light of His presence. . . .
Never since man was created had there been witnessed such a manifestation of divine power as when the law was proclaimed from Sinai. . . . Amid the most terrific convulsions of nature the voice of God, like a trumpet, was heard from the cloud. The mountain was shaken from base to summit, and the hosts of Israel, pale and trembling with terror, lay upon their faces upon the earth. He whose voice then shook the earth has declared, “Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” . . .
When Moses came from the divine Presence in the mount, where he had received the tables of the testimony, guilty Israel could not endure the light that glorified his countenance. How much less can transgressors look upon the Son of God when He shall appear in the glory of His Father, surrounded by all the heavenly host, to execute judgment upon the transgressors of His law and the rejecters of His atonement. . . .
But amid the tempest of divine judgment the children of God will have no cause for fear. “The Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” The day that brings terror and destruction to the transgressors of God’s law, will bring to the obedient, “joy unspeakable, and full of glory.”
Maranatha p. 40
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Roy who is having surgery tomorrow and Bruce who is having surgery today. Rose
—–Please pray for Lou. She has cellulitis in both legs. Eileen
—– I am in need of a prayer request. I do not want to divulge any information, but someone close to me needs them badly. I need prayers for wisdom and guidance in this situation. Kim
—— Please pray for Anca late stage cancer with two small children…May God’s will be done but lay his healing hand on her for peace and joy in the midst of trials. Carol
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Dear Friends,
For worship on Friday evening, we read and discussed a story in 1 Kings 13:1-26. “And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. Now there dwelt an old prophet [obviously a false prophet] in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.” In our discussion, we came to the conclusion that God means what He says and we should obey.
This week was our pastor’s last sermon before he moves to a new pastorate in a state thousands of miles from here began with this same story. He had a better lesson from this chapter by quoting Galations 1:6-9 and Matt 24:4. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.” Suddenly, it made sense. We must check everything that we hear and everything that we see by the Word of God. The pastor brought out that no matter who it is, even someone who we believe is a godly person and doctrinally correct in the past, can be wrong on some things. So it is very important to check everything out in order not to be fooled.
In addition, Paul emphasizes, we must even be careful if an angel were to come to us with a message. If that message does not agree 100% with God’s Holy Word, we will know that it is an evil angel rather than a good one. Isaiah counsels, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa 8:20 How important it is, then, for us to know what is taught in the Scriptures.
May we “study to shew [ourselves] approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15 May we compare Scripture with Scripture in order to know the truth ”For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Isa 28:10 May we hide God’s Word in our hearts each day is my prayer. (Ps 119:11)
Rose