And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. Ezekiel 20:20.
The Sabbath should be made so interesting to our families that its weekly return will be hailed with joy.
The Sabbath school and the meeting for worship occupy only a part of the Sabbath. The portion remaining to the family may be made the most sacred and precious season of all the Sabbath hours.
In the minds of the children the very thought of the Sabbath should be bound up with the beauty of natural things…. Happy the father and mother who can teach their children God’s written word with illustrations from the open pages of the book of nature; who can gather under the green trees, in the fresh, pure air, to study the Word and to sing the praise of the Father above.
In pleasant weather let parents walk with their children in the fields and groves. Amid the beautiful things of nature tell them the reason for the institution of the Sabbath. Describe to them God’s great work of creation. Tell them that when the earth came from His hand, it was holy and beautiful. Every flower, every shrub, every tree, answered the purpose of its Creator…. Show that it was sin which marred God’s perfect work; that thorns and thistles, sorrow and pain and death, are all the result of disobedience to God. Bid them see how the earth, though marred with the curse of sin, still reveals God’s goodness.
If we can cultivate within us a beauty of soul corresponding to the beauty of nature around us, there will be a blending of the divine and human agencies.
As the sun goes down, let the voice of prayer and the hymn of praise mark the close of the sacred hours and invite God’s presence through the cares of the week of labor. FLB 274.7
Thus parents can make the Sabbath, as it should be, the most joyful day of the week. They can lead their children to regard it as a delight, the day of days, the holy of the Lord, honorable.
The Faith I Live By p. 274
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Prayer Requests
—-Friends of mine in ____, know a bush pilot in Alaska who didn’t reach his destination.He plans was found in a river near
Russian Mission… the pilots door was open and no one inside the aircraft. Please pray for Will’s safety and return to his family! Verlyn
—- I BEG AND PLEAD for prayers for my lost husband, Daniel, who has left me and joined with a sinful woman. He knows God and I have full trust that God will seek him out. Please pray for him to turn from this world. To rebuke anything not of God within him and around him which is allowing him to cause pain and destruction. I need help. I need prayers! I need strength to feel worthy of living for me. For my son. I feel worthless. I feel disgraced and ashamed. Amanda
—-Please pray for the family and friends of the drowning victims in Jamaica. Angella
—-I need healing and strength. Buck
—- I am struggling with a series of problems that have come back to me. Please pray for strength, humility, and clarity for me. I am struggling. E
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Dear Fiends,
A new year is upon us. No one knows what it will bring, but of one thing we can be assured. There is One Who loves us more than He loves Himself! How good and kind God is! Think of it. He, Whose Hand upholds the worlds in space, also watches over each of us as if there were no one else in the entire world. (Heb 1:1-3) Our Dear Saviour assures us, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Matt 10:29-31 “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” Psalm 34:7,8
Let us live so close to our Heavenly Father in this new year, that we can daily claim the promises in Psalm 91. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no! evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.”
Rose
Day of Days