He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. Romans 9:28.
In the prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction Christ said, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” This prophecy will again be fulfilled. The abounding iniquity of that day finds its counterpart in this generation. So with the prediction in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declared that the gospel was preached to “every creature which is under heaven.” Colossians 1:23. So now, before the coming of the Son of man, the everlasting gospel is to be preached “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Revelation 14:6, 14. God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world.” Acts 17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world will be converted, but that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lord’s return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.
It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord’s professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years. . . .
We may have to remain here in this world because of insubordination many more years, as did the children of Israel; but for Christ’s sake, His people should not add sin to sin by charging God with the consequence of their own wrong course of action.
Maranatha p. 19
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Darren his mom died yesterday
Barbara was one of my dearest friends. That’s the last of Darren’s family; his dad and sister are already gone. Darren has lots of good friends but it’s so sad. Faye Ann
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Dear Friends,
When Eileen was two years old, we lived in Pennsylvania. Ron had a job selling books door to door. We were having a very difficult time financially. Every day he would go out and work from morning till late at night. Every day he did not make enough money for our needs.
But God did not forsake us. During this difficult time He put it in the hearts of two church members to help us. One of these men was a goat farmer. He supplied us daily with goat’s milk. I did not like the taste, but I drank it anyway. It was very good for Eileen, who needed good nutrition. This man also sold Mason shoes and gave Ron a pair of expensive shoes. Ron was very thankful for them. They were very comfortable and he wore them for years.
The other member brought us coal for heat. (Before that I had been going daily out into the woods to gather firewood for heating and cooking. It did not keep the house warm and Eileen and I would have to get very close to the heating stove to get a little heat and often I would burn my clothes on it.) The coal burned much hotter and longer and kept the house comfortable. I was very thankful for his kindness.
Everyone has difficulties in this life. It is how we react to those difficulties that is important. Do we fight against the trial and blame our troubles on the only One Who can help us? Do we trust our Loving Heavenly Father through both the hard times and the good? Our very future depends on how we react to the trial we are going through. Paul explains the reason why trials must come. “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Heb 12:5-11
There is a Bible story found in Genesis chapters 37, 39-50 that illustrates how God uses trials to get us where we can be the most effective in our witness for Him. When Joseph was sold by his own brothers, he had not only the fear of the future to deal with, but he also had the heartbreak of knowing that he was in this situation because those he loved hated him. What a difficult trial that knowledge was. Yet, through it all, he determined to be true to God. “God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh. Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.” Acts 7:9-17
God lead even in who bought Joseph. If it had not been Potipher, he might have been sold as a common laborer and perished quickly. But God did not allow that to happen. Joseph was His follower, His “man for the hour.” The rule of Joseph’s life was brought out in the words he spoke when urged to do evil, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Gen 39:9 Although he suffered for his steadfastness, God did not allow the suffering to last. He lead in other lives to bring about his purpose for His faithful servant.
Even though he was thrown into the dungeon for three long years, God did not forske him but gave him favor with the keeper of the prison. Joseph got an even greater reward for his faithfulness. He became second in command in the kingdom of Egypt. Even beyond this blessing, even dearer to him than being ruler, was the eventual reunion with his family, for even though those he loved had hated him, he had love and forgiveness toward them. What an example he is to us.
May we determine, as did Joseph, to love God and keep His commandments no matter what trials we are going through. May we put away our feelings of bitterness toward those who do us harm. May we allow our Loving Shepherd to lead us all the way to His Heavenly Kingdom is my prayer.
Rose