Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9.
The warning that the Son of man is soon to come in the clouds of heaven has become to many a familiar tale. They have left the waiting, watching position. The selfish, worldly spirit manifested in the life reveals the sentiment of the heart, “My lord delayeth his coming.” …
The same spirit of selfishness, of conformity to the practices of the world, exists in our day as in Noah’s. Many who profess to be children of God follow their worldly pursuits with an intensity that gives the lie to their profession. They will be planting and building, buying and selling, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the last moment of their probation. This is the condition of a large number of our own people. . . .
My soul is burdened as I see the great want of spirituality among us. The fashions and customs of the world, pride, love of amusement, love of display, extravagance in dress, in houses, in lands–these are robbing the treasury of God, turning to the gratification of self the means which should be used to send forth the light of truth to the world. . . .
The children of the light and of the day are not to gather about them the shades of night and darkness which encompass the workers of iniquity. On the contrary, they are to stand faithfully at their post of duty as light bearers, gathering light from God to shed upon those in darkness. The Lord requires His people to maintain their integrity, touching not–that is, imitating not–the practices of the ungodly.
Christians will be in this world “an holy nation, a peculiar people,” showing forth the praises of Him who hath called them “out of darkness into his marvellous light.” This light is not to grow dim, but to shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. . . . The thrilling truth that has been sounding in our ears for many years, “The Lord is at hand; be ye also ready,” is no less the truth today than when we first heard the message.
Maranatha p. 51
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Jack, a former classmate of mine, whose mother passed away. Rose
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Dear Friends,
My great-grandfather, Winfield Harmon, was a very stern and unloving man. Because of him, my grandfather had run away from home at an early age and my great-uncle did as well. Because of him my great-grandmother had a very difficult life. After she died, he hired a housekeeper. Over time, he fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. She replied, “Mr. Harmon, everyone knows how mean you were to your wife. I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth!” You might think that he would have died of a broken heart, but that is not the case. He died of a very small problem that turned into a very large problem. My great-grandfather was afraid to go to the dentist, so when he got a toothache one day, he put off getting it taken care of. Soon, the tooth became abcessed. Still he refused to go to the dentist. That abcessed tooth pumped its poison into his bloodstream and he died of septicemia.
The Bible speaks of a group of girls who suffered because they had put things off as well. “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matt 25:1-13
Those foolish girls were not mean like my grandfather. They were not afraid to go and buy the extra oil for their vessels. They simply put it off until it was too late. May we never put off accepting God’s Great Grace. May we never utter those dreadful words, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Jer 8:20 “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Cor 6:2 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.” Heb 3:7-16 May we “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10, 11
Rose