When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isaiah 43:2.
God has a church upon the earth, who are His chosen people, who keep His commandments. He is leading, not stray offshoots, not one here and one there, but a people.
There is no need to doubt, to be fearful that the work will not succeed. God is at the head of the work, and He will set everything in order. If matters need adjusting at the head of the work, God will attend to that, and work to right every wrong. Let us have faith that God is going to carry the noble ship which bears the people of God safely into port.
When I voyaged from Portland, Maine, to Boston, many years ago, a storm came upon us, and the great waves dashed us to and fro. The chandeliers fell, and the trunks were rolled from side to side, like balls. The passengers were frightened, and many were screaming, waiting in expectation of death.
After a while the pilot came on board. The captain stood near the pilot as he took the wheel, and expressed fear about the course in which the ship was directed. “Will you take the wheel?” asked the pilot. The captain was not ready to do that, for he knew that he lacked experience. Then some of the passengers grew uneasy, and said they feared the pilot would dash them upon the rocks. “Will you take the wheel?” asked the pilot; but they knew that they could not manage the wheel.
When you think that the work is in danger, pray, “Lord stand at the wheel. Carry us through the perplexity. Bring us safely into port.” Have we not reason to believe that the Lord will bring us through triumphantly? …
You cannot with your finite minds understand the working of all the providences of God. Let God take care of His own work.
The Faith I Live By p. 282
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Prayer Requests
—-We have an urgent prayer request today. We got a phone call this morning from our oldest daughter Beth that our other daughter, Ruth. Tests yesterday showed a mass on her pancreas.. . . Ruth had colon cancer about 4 years ago and she had a rare surgery at University Hospital in Denver where her colon was removed and a new “colon” created from an intestine by a noted Hungarian surgeon. I’ve been trying to get Ruth to go to a doctor for some time as she has been having problems eating and pain in her abdomen; yesterday her eyes and skin showed yellow tinges and she did go to the hospital for tests. She told Beth that the male nurse who flew with her to Penrose prayed with her on the flight. This is a critical situation, and we ask your prayers that Ruth will be touched by the Heavenly Physician and her life saved once again. Don and Teresa
—-Please pray for a baby who has a hole in the heart, pneumonia and other complications. She was rushed to ICU once she was able to get to a hospital.
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Dear Friends,
When I was a little girl, I enjoyed several books that my mother had saved from her childhood. Her grandmother had given them to her, so they were extra special. One was a fanciful story entitled “Honey Bear” which was about the woodcutter’s baby girl being taken by a bear in a red jacket to have a feast of honey. The other two books were entitled “Flower Children.” I especially liked these, as they had drawings of children dressed as flowers. Under each drawing was a poem that told a little about that particular flower. For hours I would look at those books noticing each blossom and leaf until I can still see some of the pictures in my mind’s eye even today.
Throughout the years, I kept those books with the intent of someday giving them to my children. As I moved from place to place, I lost or misplaced many items but not those books. They were very precious to me. My great-grandmother had given them to my mother when she was a small child. Those books had been very precious to her because she loved her grandmother.
When Ronnie Jay was two months old, a fire destroyed everything we owned—my piano, my accordion, my guitar, my collection of piano music (some of which had been my great-grandfather’s) all our photographs, all our books (including “Honey Bear” and “Flower Children” as well as ones that had been Ron’s grandmother’s). All we had left were the clothes we were wearing, yet we were thankful that we were unhurt.
How quickly the things of this world can pass away. Our Loving Saviour advises, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:19-21 Solomon adds, “Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.” Prov 11:4
How quickly we can pass away and all we own will do us no good. “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21
How soon everyone’s possesions will be worthless. Jesus is coming soon! Peter speaks of that time, “he Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us–ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” 2 Peter 3:9-14 John declared of this time, “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Rev 6:15-17 Isaiah foresaw this, “And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Isa 2:19-21
In view of this, may we keep our priorities straight. May we “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” Phil 3:14 May we declare as did Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Tim 4:7, 8
Rose
God Will Take Care of His Church