I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2.
We believe without a doubt that Christ is soon coming. This is not a fable to us; it is a reality. We have no doubt, neither have we had a doubt for years, that the doctrines we hold today are present truth, and that we are nearing the judgment. We are preparing to meet Him who, escorted by a retinue of holy angels, is to appear in the clouds of heaven to give the faithful and the just the finishing touch of immortality. When He comes He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in our characters, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, this work will all be accomplished before that time. When the Lord comes, those who are holy will be holy still. Those who have preserved their bodies and spirits in holiness, in sanctification and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and filthy will remain so forever. No work will then be done for them to remove their defects and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now that this work is to be accomplished for us.
We embrace the truth of God with our different faculties, and as we come under the influence of that truth, it will accomplish the work for us which is necessary to give us a moral fitness for the kingdom of glory and for the society of the heavenly angels. We are now in God’s workshop. Many of us are rough stones from the quarry. But as we lay hold upon the truth of God, its influence affects us. It elevates us and removes from us every imperfection and sin, of whatever nature. Thus we are prepared to see the King in His beauty and finally to unite with the pure and heavenly angels in the kingdom of glory. It is here that this work is to be accomplished for us, here that our bodies and spirits are to be fitted for immortality.
Maranatha p. 221
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Esther and the children who are very sick with colds. Rose
—–please pray that Jacob has a good recovery. He is having surgery on his right knee at this moment for a torn MCL and dislocated patella. Yvonne
—–Please pray for my friend Mary and her children. I am praying God will supply all her needs so that she and her kids will not be homeless. Fran
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Dear Friends,
One day when I was following my grandfather all around, he picked up a pad of paper and wrote something on it. Then he tore it off and threw it away. How strange! Then he told me a story of a time when a friend of his was robbed. A thief had taken many valuable items out of his friend’s house and detectives were swarming the place. As he and his friend were watching them, one of the detectives picked up a pad of paper that was on the desk. He then took a soft lead pencil, tipped it to the side, and began to color the paper softly.
At that moment, my grandfather did the same as he had seen the detective do. To my amazement, the message appeared that my grandfather had written on the paper he had thrown away. Then he explained to me what the detective had explained to him so long ago. Whenever we write a message on a pad of paper, it affects the page underneath. That page, although seemly untouched, takes on the impress of whatever was written on the page above. When shaded lightly by the soft lead pencil, the message becomes clearly visible. Then he told me that if I ever needed to see what someone had written, I could do what he had just done.
My grandfather did not bring out any spiritual lesson for he never spoke of spiritual things. Nevertheless, there is one. All that we do and say has an effect on those around us. In everything we are an example for good or for evil. In scientific studies, it has been shown that a person takes on the characteristics of another after being around them for as little as ten minutes. That is something to ponder.
Paul advises, “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Phil 4:8 This text should be our guide. Whatever we watch on TV, whatever we listen to on the radio, our words, our associations with others should be true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. What we allow into our mind, will alter our thoughts, words, and actions. An example of this is the phrase “Sorry about that.” It came from a TV show of the 60’s. Soon, almost everyone was using that phrase. Even now, forty years later, it is not uncommon. Paul’s words to Timothy are for us as well. “Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation (conduct), in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Tim 4:12 Peter adds, “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Peter 2:22-24
May we carefully guard the “avenues of the soul.” May our words, our thoughts, our actions affect those around us for good and not for evil. May we so live that others are drawn to our Dear Saviour is my prayer.
Rose