God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. Ecclesiastes 7:29.
The book of Genesis gives quite a definite account of social and individual life, and yet we have no record of an infant’s being born blind, deaf, crippled, deformed, or imbecile. There is not an instance upon record of a natural death in infancy, childhood, or early manhood. There is no account of men and women dying of disease. Obituary notices in the book of Genesis run thus: “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.” “And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.” …
God endowed man with so great vital force that he has withstood the accumulation of disease brought upon the race in consequence of perverted habits, and has continued for six thousand years. This fact of itself is enough to evidence to us the strength and electrical energy that God gave to man at his creation…. If Adam, at his creation, had not been endowed with twenty times as much vital force as men now have, the race, with their present habits of living in violation of natural law, would have become extinct….
God did not create the race in its present feeble condition. This state of things is not the work of Providence, but the work of man; it has been brought about by wrong habits and abuses, by violating the laws that God has made to govern man’s existence.
God created man for His own glory, that after test and trial the human family might become one with the heavenly family. It was God’s purpose to re-populate heaven with the human family, if they would show themselves obedient to His every word.
To Eve it seemed a small thing to disobey God by tasting the fruit of the forbidden tree, and to tempt her husband also to transgress; but their sin opened the floodgates of woe upon the world. Who can know, in the moment of temptation, the terrible consequences that will result from one wrong step?
Conflict and Courage p. 21
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for B today as he has a job interview. L
—– Please pray for my precious Durwin today as he seems to be giving up and
has been refusing food, and not taking liquids or drink for a few days now.
He has lost considerable weight and we are trying hard to save his toe on
the left foot which he had surgery on a few weeks ago and he goes back on
the 10th to find out if it will be taken or not. I am recovering from
recent pneumonia and Durwin too had a mild case but does not have the cough
that I have been plagued with. He has not been communicating for quite a
while now which has made it extremely difficult to know his desires and
needs. God continues to carry us each day in this horrific trial, may His
will be done…my heart is breaking as I watch and care for this dear man
who has endured entirely too much , humiliation, indignation and suffering
over the past 6 years, humbly and without complaint. May only God be
glorified in how he has endured this journey.
Thank you, I am always praying for and believing in God’s miracle.
Virginia
—–Please pray for Esther. She fell down the steps because of the ice and is in a lot of pain. Rose
—– Please pray for our cat Stewart. He got out yesterday from our screen porch, and we can’t find him. It’s been raining here pretty heavy and it’s cold. He’s not intelligent like his sister and mom. He will wander off and get lost. Please pray the Lord will direct his mind to find his home and the Angels to protect him. Denise
——- My sister and her family need God’s intervention. There is sickness, pain, problems. Thank you for prayers. Faye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
One evening about an hour before sunset some years ago, Ron suggested we take a walk at Pawnee Prairie Park. This park is has large expanse of grass that is six-feet tall as well as some wooded areas. Ronnie Jay and I grabbed our cameras and away we went.
We walked on a mowed path through the tall grass hoping to see a deer. We didn’t. The path led to a sandy trail through some woods. No deer, but we did see a spider that had built a web about eight feet above the path. We stopped and marveled at his ambition.
That sandy trail led at last to the more developed part of the park that had a cement sidewalk. This we took back to our car. Along that walk, Ronnie Jay spotted some deer on the other side of the river. Off the path he went to take some pictures. It was a doe and her mostly-grown fawns. I stayed on the walkway to take my photos, so they didn’t turn out very well. I was too far away.
We continued walking toward the entrance of the park. When we got nearly there, I decided that we would not see any more wildlife, so I shut off my camera. Big mistake! Suddenly from out of the tall grass just about ten feet from us, a doe walked gracefully across the sidewalk to the tall grass on other side. Ronnie Jay snapped a picture, but the deer was gone by the time my camera turned back on. We took only a few steps when another doe bounded across the path. It happened so fast that neither of us had time to even put our camera up to our eye. What a beautiful photograph that would have made! If only we had been ready.
Just as quickly as those deer appeared from out of the six-foot tall grass, so unexpectedly will appear our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He spoke of the importance of our being always ready for His appearing, “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. . . . And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken, The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord?s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” Mark 13:34-37, Luke 12:35-48
“Therefore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thes 5:6 May we watch unto prayer for the end of all things is at hand. 1 Peter 4:7 May that great day not catch us unprepared is my prayer.
Rose