Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Malachi 4:5, 6.
The closing words of Malachi are a prophecy regarding the work that should be done preparatory to the first and the second advent of Christ.
Those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ are represented by faithful Elijah, as John came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ’s first advent.
Our message must be as direct as was that of John. He rebuked kings for their iniquity. Notwithstanding the peril his life was in, he never allowed truth to languish on his lips….
In this time of well-nigh universal apostasy, God calls upon His messengers to proclaim His law in the spirit and power of Elias. As John the Baptist, in preparing a people for Christ’s first advent, called their attention to the Ten Commandments, so we are to give, with no uncertain sound, the message: “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” With the earnestness that characterized Elijah the prophet and John the Baptist, we are to strive to prepare the way for Christ’s second advent.
The hour of God’s judgment has come, and upon the members of His church on earth rests the solemn responsibility of giving warning to those who are standing as it were on the very brink of eternal ruin.
All can do something in the work. None will be pronounced guiltless before God unless they have worked earnestly and unselfishly for the salvation of souls.
Your duty cannot be shifted upon another. No one but yourself can do your work. If you withhold your light, someone must be left in darkness through your neglect.
The Lord has a place for everyone in His great plan.
The Faith I Live By p. 290
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Prayer Requests
—-I met a preacher yesterday on the streets preaching, I shared the Sabbath, he doesn’t believe we should still keep it. I prayed with them that God will reveal it to them.
Prayers please. Rosemary
—-Please everyone pray for baby Calvin… They were worried about the bruise on his head, it’s got some fluid under the skin on his head that migrates, making the doc think it’s bleeding deeper than the surface layer… However the head hasn’t gotten bigger, they were checking every 2 hrs… Well the MRI scan came back and yes it was confirmed that his bruise and the fluid under his head is more internal, so they took him to NICU to monitor more closely, they will try and let his body resorb the excess blood, but that may cause jaundice. Heidi
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Dear Friends,
When Ron and I were first married, we lived at Berrien Springs, Michigan. There were many fun things to do in the area at that time, and it seemed like Ron always wanted to do something in the evenings. Somehow he found out about a place where we could ride horses and decided that was going to be the entertainment for the evening. I wasn’t too excited about that because I’m allergic to horses and had not even been near a horse since I was about five. That didn’t matter. He had not been on a horse in years either.
Of course, we went. I managed to pull myself up on that huge animal which was not an easy task. As soon as I was in the saddle, that beast knew that I had no idea what I was doing. Animals can sense those things. Since I did not know how to control that horse, she decided that she would control me. We were supposed to follow the guide as he took us on a trail ride. My horse was tired of seeing the same scenery. She decided to stray from the path. I made an effort to get her back on the path, but she knew who was boss. She was! The guide came back to where I was and gave me a few instructions. Not too far down the path, that creature spied a delicious clump of tender grasses. Off the path she went to eat her delicacy. Since I was her captive, I went along too.
The guide was getting a little impatient. This trail ride was taking much longer than it was supposed to. Several times this happened and finally he just took the reigns away from me and led the horse the rest of the way. By that time I was beyond caring. My eyes itched, my nose was running, and I was miserable. Humiliation was the least of my worries.
How often we are attracted to sin. It may be just a small thing that we are sure we can try just once and never do again. At first it seems like it will give us the pleasure we are looking for, but soon we find that there is no controlling it. We try our best; but no matter what we do, we are held captive by it. The sin that looked so innocent becomes our master.
We realize our condition, but we are so helpless that we cannot do anything to change. We are taken wherever our sin carries us. We cry out in our helplessness for someone to help, for someone to save us from our condition. Praise God, there is Someone Who hears. He hears our voice and supplications. He inclines His ear unto us. He gives us the help that we need. He assures us, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isa 41:10, 13 “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.” 27:5 “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” 30:21 Precious Saviour! He is our Helper, our Comforter, our Guide, our Salvation!
Let us pray as did David, “Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” Ps 119:133 Let us reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us determine that by His power and grace, sin will not reign in us or have dominion over us, is my prayer.
Rose