Note: Due to the signs that the last days are upon us, I am going to suspend the sharing of This Day With God and am going to share the book Maranatha by E G White. I hope that you will get a blessing from it.
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The First Coming of Jesus
When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,…to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Galatians 4:4, 5.
The Saviour’s coming was foretold in Eden. When Adam and Eve first heard the promise, they looked for its speedy fulfillment. They joyfully welcomed their first-born son, hoping that he might be the Deliverer. But the fulfillment of the promise tarried. Those who first received it died without the sight. From the days of Enoch the promise was repeated through patriarchs and prophets, keeping alive the hope of His appearing, and yet He came not. The prophecy of Daniel revealed the time of His advent, but not all rightly interpreted the message. Century after century passed away; the voices of the prophets ceased. The hand of the oppressor was heavy upon Israel, and many were ready to exclaim, “The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth.” Ezekiel 12:22.
But like the stars in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God’s purposes know no haste and no delay. Through the symbols of the great darkness and the smoking furnace, God had revealed to Abraham the bondage of Israel in Egypt, and had declared that the time of their sojourning should be four hundred years. “Afterward,” He said, “shall they come out with great substance.” Genesis 15:14. Against that word, all the power of Pharaoh’s proud empire battled in vain. On “the self-same day” appointed in the divine promise, “it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:41. So in heaven’s council the hour for the coming of Christ had been determined. When the great clock of time pointed to that hour, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
“When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son.” Providence had directed the movements of nations, and the tide of human impulse and influence, until the world was ripe for the coming of the Deliverer….
Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
Maranatha p. 9
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Prayer Requests
—– We had a heart to heart with my orthopedic surgeon and he decided I should have a steroid shot in my right knee where the tendon has been flared up for about 4 years. . . . Then we talked about the left knee. He said I definitely need the knee surgery. There is no cartilage and there are bone spurs. He decided I had to make sure the right leg was well first. He also put me on a diet of small portions 6 times a day so I can lose weight before the surgery. His clinic is checking into Medicare to see if they will pay for the series of shots in the left knee that will lubricate it so I will not have a lot of pain; but the shots only last 6 months. Please pray that Medicare will pay for the knee procedure. That would be most helpful until I can have the surgery. I also need prayer that I will be able to lose about 60 lbs in 6 months. Fran
—–Please pray for the meetings that are starting tonight at the Cornerstone SDA Church. Rose
—– Please pray for my newborn grandson Benjamin. They have taken him to NICU with breathing problems. He is 24 hours old, 7 lb 5 oz. Not sure of exact issues he is having, but they are going to run a lot of tests. Thanks so much. Linda
—— Asking for prayers for my cousin-in-law Mike who is really sick and for his family. Karen
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Dear Friends,
When I was a little girl, my mother and I went to Wisconsin for a vacation. While there, we saw everything there was to see and did everything there was to do there at the time. That included visiting Cave of the Mounds. As we walked through that cave, I was awe-struck by the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites and other rock formations. It looked like a fairyland. That began a love for caves that has lasted throughout the years.
No matter where we go on vacation, I always try to find a nearby cave. Ron doesn’t like caves much, but he goes because I enjoy them. His biggest complaint about a cave tour is that the guide nearly always gets us down in the depths of the earth and then turns out the lights. The guide tells everyone in the tour group to be silent. There is not one tiny ray of light. The blackness is so dark that it can be felt. After what seems like an eternity to Ron, the guide turns on a small flashlight. It is a relief to be able to see something again. After turning on the light switch, the cave is once more flooded with light and the beautiful formations are again visible. In the last cave we went to this past summer, Ron had an additional problem. He was the last person in line and the guide hurrying us through turned of the lights of each section before he had a chance to get into the light of the next section.
Just as that cave was totally dark without electric lights, so without God’s Word to guide us, we are in total darkness, darkness as complete as it is inside a cave. The psalmist declares, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Ps 119:105 Through study of the Scriptures, we may find the narrow path that leads to Heaven that Jesus speaks about. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matt 7:13,14
Peter makes an interesting comparison between his experience upon the Mount of Transfiguration and God’s Word. “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:16-21 Think of it! More sure than seeing Christ glorified among them, greater than listening to His being encouraged by Moses and Elijah, beyond hearing the voice of God declare Jesus to be His Son [Matt 17:1-9] is the study and following of God’s Holy Word.
Then Peter give warning, but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies.” 2 Peter 2:1 Jesus warns us of the same, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders.” Matt 24:24 Paul also warns, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:29, 30
How can we recognize the true from the false? Through the light of God’s Holy Word. We must compare all that we hear, all that we see, all that we read with a “Thus saith the Lord.” “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa 8:20 In these last days of earth’s history, our only safety is in hiding God’s Word in our heart. (Ps 119:9-11) We must pray earnestly for guidance, take our concordance to find all that is written concerning a certain subject, and change our life accordingly.
May we “study to show [ourself] approved of God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” 2 Tim 2:15 May we be “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving [our] own selves.” James 2:22 May we follow the Light continually is my prayer.
Rose