When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. Isaiah 41:17.
When Christ ceases His intercession in the sanctuary, the unmingled wrath threatened against those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark, will be poured out. The plagues upon Egypt when God was about to deliver Israel, were similar in character to those more terrible and extensive judgments which are to fall upon the world just before the final deliverance of God’s people. Says the revelator, in describing those terrific scourges: “There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.” The sea “became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.” And “the rivers and fountains of waters … became blood.” Revelation 16:2-4. Terrible as these inflictions are, God’s justice stands fully vindicated….
These plagues are not universal, or the inhabitants of the earth would be wholly cut off. Yet they will be the most awful scourges that have ever been known to mortals. All the judgments upon men, prior to the close of probation, have been mingled with mercy. The pleading blood of Christ has shielded the sinner from receiving the full measure of his guilt; but in the final judgment, wrath is poured out unmixed with mercy.
It is impossible to give any idea of the experience of the people of God who will be alive on the earth when past woes and celestial glory will be blended. They will walk in the light proceeding from the throne of God. By the means of the angels there will be constant communication between heaven and earth.
The people of God will not be free from suffering; but … they will not be left to perish…. While the wicked are dying from hunger and pestilence, angels will shield the righteous, and supply their wants. To him that “walketh righteously” is the promise, “Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Isaiah 33:16.
The Faith I Live By p. 340
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Request
—-I misplaced a card with a check in it please pray that I can find it as soon as possible. thank you .M.
—-Please pray for my sister in law. She is in horrible pain with her gallbladder. She is in so much pain that she can hardly speak and I don’t think she will go to a doctor or hospital for it. She is also extremely nauseated. Also she hasn’t been able to find her car keys for about 3 days now and she can’t go anywhere with out them. Please pray for her she needs God’s help badly right now. Connie
—-A very dear friends granddaughter is on life support . She is 5. Please pray for McKenzie. Cheri
—-Please, pray for my husband’s family, specially my mother in law. They just lost one of their sons, age 37. T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
Some years ago, Ron was telling me some true stories that were very funny. He had read them in the Avionics News magazine. One of the stories was about a pilot who had decided to learn aerobatics. Curious to see how many times the force of gravity (G’s) some of his newly learned stunts were pulling, he bought an instrument that measured such. A few days later, he sent the instrument back saying that it was broken. When he was asked in what way it was broken, he said that when he was on the ground or flying along normally, it always registered “1” instead of zero. As he was explaining, he suddenly realized that intrument was correct. If we were at zero G’s, we would be in big trouble.
We laugh at the man’s mistake, yet there are many people who make a similar one. They misunderstand the purpose of the Law of God. Some think that by being careful to outwardly keep the commandments, that they can earn a place in God’s kingdom. The Bible tells us, however, that “by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Gal 2:16
Paul explains that the law is “our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” for “by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Gal 3:24; Rom 3:20 When we look at the perfect law of liberty, we see how far we are from God’s will for our life. Our hopes sink as the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sinfulness, and we feel as never before our need of Someone Who can save us from the penalty we deserve. Our faith lays hold on the saving grace of our Loving Lord, and we claim His promises of cleansing and overcoming. Praise God!
Paul asks, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Rom 6:1-16
John assures us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” 1 John 1:9-2:6
May we, in these weeks leading up to the celebration of the Ten Commandment Day, study the relationship the Law has to faith in the Great Lawgiver Who, though He never committed sin, became sin for us down His Life for us paying the penalty for our transgressions; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Cor 5:21
Rose

Seven Last Plagues