These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. Revelation 17:14.
What is life? A standing memorial of the only true God. The work of creation can never be explained by science. What intellect is there that can explain the science of life? Can we wonder that the materialist has no place for the existence of God? The fourth commandment declares to the whole universe, to the worlds unfallen and the fallen world, that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. The evidence there given does not leave standing room for skepticism….
Christ, the Commander in the heavenly courts, was accustomed to receive the attendance and adoration of angels. And at any time during His life on this earth He could have called to His Father for twelve legions of angels. But no bribe, no temptation to lead Him to manifest His divine prerogatives, could induce Him to deviate from the path of God’s appointment. Great tact and cunning were shown in the tactics which Satan followed. Three times did the enemy try to gain the victory over Christ. He assailed Him on the point of appetite. He appealed to His pride. He presented before Him the most captivating scenes of this world. He challenged Him to give evidence that He was the Son of God. Christ gave him none, but righteously maintained His dignity as One to whom God has committed all power.
Today, Satan has great power in the world. He has been permitted to have proprietorship of this earth for an appointed time. During this period, when iniquity prevails, men and women are given a chance to take sides. In every possible way, Satan tries to make the broad road attractive and the narrow road grievous, humiliating, and objectionable. He lays ingenious plans to allure men and women to indulge appetite. Cheap, unsatisfying pleasures are made all and in all in this degenerate age. Satan throws his glamour about these amusements, which eclipse eternal things. Many will sell their birthright, as did Esau, for trifling consideration by the indulgence of appetite. Worldly pleasure will appear more desirable to them than the heavenly birthright.
But Christ has overcome in our behalf. He was the only one who could be a competent Saviour. He had divine wisdom, ability, and power. He could stand before the world as a wonderful Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.—Letter 7, January 25, 1900, to W. K. Kellogg, brother of and assistant to Dr. J. H. Kellogg.
The Upward Look p. 39
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Prayer Requests
—-I have a friend who really needs prayer for her marriage. Her husband used to be a SDA Christian but now he is into pornography and he is now into the violent kind of porn and my friend really needs prayer about this. The devil seems to have taken control of him. . . . Please pray for his quick repentance and conversion. Also I got a late call tonight from one of my son’s because his girlfriend had come home and . . . they had an argument and she started punching my son in his stomach over and over and her teenage son kept yelling over and over for his mom to stop punching my son. So she then went after her teenage son and my son called the cops and she was arrested and is now in jail. They have 4 beautiful children together and everything had been going so good for them lately. Now CPS will probably get involved and my son is very worried and stressed out. Please pray for my son and my grandchildren that everything will be okay for them. I hate to say it but the mom needed to be arrested this is not the first time she has attacked my son. He is a very good dad and loves his kids so much. Please pray for them all. Connie
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Dear Friends,
It has been a long time since we have gone for a little walk at Watson park (one of the local parks here in the city) but every time we do, we remember the time when we were invited to a wedding there. The bride was a friend of Eileen from the trailer park where we lived. This was her third marriage and she and the groom didn’t seem to take it all that seriously.
The pastor who was officiating, however, took it very seriously. He had some really important things to say about marriage. He spoke of the seriousness of the marriage vows that are taken before the Great King of the Universe. When he guided the bride and groom through their vows, we were surprised at how very strict they were. He stressed the point that these vows were not to be entered into lightly. Then he addressed the congregation and had them vow to do all within our power to help the bride and groom to keep the vows they had just taken. (Sadly, in a few years there marriage ended, but the pastor’s words that day stuck with me.)
The Bible speaks of an upcoming wedding that is the most important and grandest wedding that will ever take place, a wedding where the Groom is our Dear Saviour and His followers are the bride. John gives us a glimpse of that marriage. “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” Rev 19:6-9 It is a wedding where “thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” Isa 54:5 Paul used the symbol of marriage when he told his converts, “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” 2 Cor 11:2
Each day, we are preparing for that great ceremony above. Just as Jesus said “He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matt 19:4-6, so when we accept Jesus as our Saviour we begin a new life of oneness with Him. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Cor 5:17
Just as a man and woman become more like one another the longer they are married, so we become changed into His likeness through a closer and closer walk with Him. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor 3:18
When we join ourselves to our Loving Saviour, we are no longer the same, no longer our own. His thoughts are to become our thoughts; His will, our will; His life our life. How our Great Redeemer longs for us to have this close relationship with Him. He assures us, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”Jer 31:3 How His Great Heart of Love longs for us to fellowship with Him continuously. How He desires us to show our love for Him not only by the words we say, but also by the things that we do. Our greatest joy will be to do those things which please Him. Paul tells us, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Cor 6:19,20
May we daily invite Jesus into our heart allowing Him to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Phil 2:13 May we spend so much time with Him through Bible study and prayer that others will see Him image stamped upon our character is my prayer.
Rose
Our Competent Saviour