Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 18:10.
As the veil which conceals Christ’s glory from our view is drawn aside, the Saviour is shown to be in His high and holy place, not in solitude, careless and indifferent to our needs, but surrounded by thousands and thousands of holy angels, each one of which has a commission to fulfill for the blessing of humanity.
The Saviour is in communication with every part of His vast dominion. He stoops from His throne to listen to the cries of His children. His heart of love is filled with pity and compassion for them. But His greatest grief, I am instructed to say, comes when grief is brought to those whom He has appointed to do a certain work; when someone who does not understand the will of God urges his way in, to cloud judgment by many words. Months and years may be needed to undo the wrong wrought in the few minutes spent in speaking unadvised words.
Oh, we must not grieve the Saviour by our lack of love for one another…. At one time the disciples came to Jesus with the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:1-3)….
We are engaged in a great and solemn work, and we should follow the Saviour closely. He will lead us to higher and still higher planes of truth. “Ye shall see greater things than these,” He says, “only be diligent students.” He opens to inspection the books where the name of each follower is inscribed, and they see with astonishment the record of actions dishonoring to God and actions commended by Him. Each day’s record shows the workings of providence—the efforts of the Lord to keep men meek and lowly, tenderhearted, and pitiful.
Christ hears every word spoken in disparagement of His children. He knows when they become almost distracted in their work because meddlesome persons, instead of attending to their own work, carry a great burden for the work of someone else…. Could the eyes of the one who is cherishing evil surmisings be opened, he would see the Saviour drawing near to the one whom he has accused, bending over him as, full of perplexity, he kneels beside his couch, weeping, and begging the Lord for strength, for wisdom, for His keeping power.—Manuscript 94, September 23, 1904, “The Sin of Evil-speaking.”
The Upward Look p. 280
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray that L can sleep tonight. A
—-Please pray for Andy who is being tempted by a woman at work. Rosemary
—-Please pray for Ava & pray her pain after surgery subsides quickly. Michelle
—-Two requests plz. A friend and church member’s son has stage 4 cancer and is in excruciating pain. His name is Greg. Then my cousin Kevin tried to kill himself last night and is in hospital in Florida under watch. He had COVID-19 and recooperated but is very depressed. Other things going on too. Debra
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Dear Friends,
Until I was five, my aunt Joyce still lived with my grandparents. Since they had adopted me when I was a baby, I lived there too. My aunt loved all children, but I was especially dear to her. So, for those first five years, she showered me with expensive gifts. To her disappointment, I was often played with the box instead of the toy when she first gave them to me. Later I played with the gifts but it was not the same.
As I got older, her gifts were enjoyed, but I did not appreciate the hours of work that she put in at the factory in order to buy these expensive gifts for me. Gilmore’s Department Store was the fanciest and most expensive store in Kalamazoo; and because Auntie Joyce loved me, she bought my presents there. One time when I was very little, she saw a portable dollhouse with very expensive and realistic miniature furnishings. Instantly, she knew that this would make me happy. Each week she would buy a piece of furniture, so that by the time I was old enough to enjoy playing with it, I had the complete set. How I loved that dollhouse! It was one of the few things that I really enjoyed playing with and I kept it until I was in my late teens. Then I gave it (along with my other toys and my bicycle) to a neighbor girl who didn’t have many toys. She was so happy to receive such a wonderful dollhouse.
Looking back to my early childhood, I can never remember really thanking Auntie Joyce for all the lovely things she bought me. Of course, I said “thank you,” because I had been taught to be polite; but the heartfelt thanks was not there. I took her gifts for granted as though they were something I deserved.
How often do we do the same with our Heavenly Father’s gifts. How often we enjoy His wonderful blessings with scarcely a thought of the Giver. We might even thank Him politely for something special, but our heart is not filled with the gratefulness we should feel. How often we forget that, “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17 With tears in His Voice He laments, “this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me.” Isa 29:13
How little we appreciate God’s Greatest Gift, the Gift of His Dear Son. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 5:8 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16, 17 How often we take His Great Sacrifice for granted and live our life as though we think it is something due us!
Do we daily thank Him for the great sacrifice that He made for us? Do we have gratefulness and love for His goodness continually welling up within our hearts? Do we respond to His Great Love by lovingly obeying His precepts? Can others see His character shining through us or do they see little difference between us and someone who makes no profession? Are God’s praises continually on our lips? Paul advises, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thes 5:18
May God open our eyes to His blessings each day. May we thank our Dear Saviour for leaving the glories of Heaven where He was worshiped and adored by the myriads of the heavenly host and came to this dark and rebellious planet to suffer all the abuse the evil one could heap upon Him at the hands of wicked men and die the cruelest of deaths that we might be saved. As my favorite author wrote in Testimonies vol. 8, p. 208 “Christ gave Himself, an atoning sacrifice, for the saving of a lost world. He was treated as we deserve, in order that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. “With His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5. May we praise Him from a heart filled with love and gratitude for His marvelous love and grace is my prayer.
Rose

Jesus Listens to the Contrite