Come Just as You Are

Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Jeremiah 13:23.
God does not regard all sins as of equal magnitude; there are degrees of guilt in His estimation, as well as in that of man; but however trifling this or that wrong act may seem in the eyes of men, no sin is small in the sight of God. Man’s judgment is partial, imperfect; but God estimates all things as they really are. The drunkard is despised, and is told that his sin will exclude him from heaven; while pride, selfishness, and covetousness too often go unrebuked. But these are sins that are especially offensive to God; for they are contrary to the benevolence of His character, to that unselfish love which is the very atmosphere of the unfallen universe. He who falls into some of the grosser sins may feel a sense of his shame and poverty and his need of the grace of Christ; but pride feels no need, and so it closes the heart against Christ, and the infinite blessings He came to give….
If you see your sinfulness, do not wait to make yourself better. How many there are who think they are not good enough to come to Christ. Do you expect to become better through your own efforts? … There is help for us only in God. We must not wait for stronger persuasions, for better opportunities, or for holier tempers. We can do nothing for ourselves. We must come to Christ just as we are.
Yield yourself to Christ without delay; He alone, by the power of His grace, can redeem you from ruin. He alone can bring your moral and mental powers into a state of health. Your heart may be warm with the love of God; your understanding, clear and mature; your conscience, illuminated, quick, and pure; your will, upright and sanctified, subject to the control of the Spirit of God. You can make yourself what you choose. If you will now face rightabout, cease to do evil and learn to do well, then you will be happy indeed; you will be successful in the battles of life, and rise to glory and honor in the better life than this.
The Faith I Live By p. 133
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Prayer Requests
—-Ron is much better. Thank you for your prayers. Rose
—-I have a neighbor that just was hospitalized. She is having quick heart palpitations and is foaming out of her mouth. The ambulance came and got her. Please, if you will say a prayer in her behalf. Katherin
—-Please pray for McKenna a tiny baby who was hit by a stray ball at a ball game and not doing well. Pray for complete healing. Jeanie
—-Please pray for my sister, Lorri. Lorri had gotten sick and wound up not drinking enough water. That threw her electrolytes off really bad, and she wound up having a mild heart attack because of it. She is still in ICU, but things are looking better for her. Brenda
—-My beautiful granddaughter has found out she has lupus. She is also pregnant. Im asking for prayer for God to be with her and comfort her heart because she is young to be going through this. Also pray her faith in God will be strong to help her get through this. Barbara
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Dear Friends,
My grandchildren are 19 months apart. They are very close. When one is sleeping, the other misses them and can hardly wait until they awaken. It reminds me of the relationship Ronnie Jay and Esther had when they were little.
When I found that I was going to have another baby, I wondered what Ronnie Jay’s reaction would be. He loved to be held and cuddled, so I spent a lot of time doing just that. He was my constant companion and he grew to be a happy, loving child who always had a broad smile on his face. Now a new baby was coming who would take up much of my time and receive much of the love and cuddling. How would he react?
I needn’t have worried. When I brought Esther Marie home from the hospital, Ronnie Jay was delighted. My little boy loved his baby sister with all of his three-year-old heart. He often begged to hold her and cuddle her, so I would have him sit on the sofa beside me and lay her in his lap. His face just beamed with joy. He spent hours talking to her. When I would lay her on the bed, he would lay beside her. Wherever I put her, he played happily beside her. As she grew older and needed to be punished, he would beg to take her punishment. He could not bear the thought of his little sister suffering any unhappiness or pain. When I made her pick up her toys, he would help her. Those two children were exceptionally close and played together happily throughout all of their growing up years.
The love of God, how great it is. It is much more than the love Ronnie Jay had for his little sister or the love that Emma and Peter have for one another. Indeed, it is beyond our comprehension. It is much more satisfying than any earthly relationship. Our Redeemer is an ever present Friend in our loneliness. He is the “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Prov 18:24 He has promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb 13:5 His Great Heart of Love swells with compassion toward us. How He longs for our love in return.
When Adam and Eve sinned, all the universe was filled with sorrow. Something had to be done. The Father and the Son conferred together and decided to implement the plan that “God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” Titus 1:2 How difficult it must have been for the Father to allow Jesus to suffer all the hatred that the devil could heap upon Him. Yet, because of His great love for us, “he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
Jesus gave His all for us because of His Great Love for us. Isaiah explains His sacrifice so well. He left the glories of Heaven and was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isa 53:3-12
Jesus assures us, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.” John 15:7-17 “I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luke 11:9-13 What wondrous love! God not only sent His Son to save us, but He supplies all our needs. He gives us better gifts than an earthly Father gives to his favored son.
Let us love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let us count it all joy to serve Him, doing all of His bidding because we love Him, Who first loved us. (1 John 4:19) Let us share His love with those around us that they, too, may realize our Dear Saviour’s love and marvelous grace.
Rose