He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20.
The [second] coming of the Lord has been in all ages the hope of His true followers. The Saviour’s parting promise upon Olivet, that He would come again, lighted up the future for His disciples, filling their hearts with joy and hope that sorrow could not quench nor trials dim. Amid suffering and persecution, “the appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” was the “blessed hope.” When the Thessalonian Christians were filled with grief as they buried their loved ones, who had hoped to live to witness the coming of the Lord, Paul, their teacher, pointed them to the resurrection, to take place at the Saviour’s advent. Then the dead in Christ should rise, and together with the living be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. “And so,” he said, “shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. …
From the dungeon, the stake, the scaffold, where saints and martyrs witnessed for the truth, comes down the centuries the utterance of their faith and hope. Being “assured of His personal resurrection, and consequently of their own at His coming, for this cause,” says one of these Christians, “they despised death, and were found to be above it.”–Daniel T. Taylor, The Reign of Christ on Earth: or, The Voice of the Church in All Ages, p. 33. They were willing to go down to the grave, that they might “rise free.” They looked for the “Lord to come from heaven in the clouds with the glory of His Father,” “bringing to the just the times of the kingdom.” The Waldenses cherished the same faith. Wycliffe looked forward to the Redeemer’s appearing as the hope of the church.
On rocky Patmos the beloved disciple hears the promise, “Surely I come quickly,” and his longing response voices the prayer of the church in all her pilgrimage, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20.
Maranatha p. 12
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Prayer Requests
—– Pray God will meet all Mary’s needs and that he will give her a better
place to live. Pray that every time Adrian opens his mouth to belittle
her that God will make his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth so that he
can not speak. When he wants to speak nicely, then he can talk. Fran
—–update—Kim’s dad is out of the hospital awaiting the test results. Please pray for him and the family. Rose
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Dear Friends,
One day after church some years ago, Ronnie Jay, a friend of his who was visiting for a few days, Eileen, and I decided to go walking in a nearby park. I was thinking we were going to the area of the park that has nice cement walkways, so I wore my church clothes. As we were driving to the park, Eileen asked if we could go to the other side. Now that area has tiny dirt trails. I said, “Well, I’m not dressed for it, but I like that area better too, so let’s go there.”
After we had started down the trail, I realized that few people had been there since a flood in that area almost a year before. There were places where the path had been washed away and other areas where it was barely visible because grass and thistles had grown over it. To add to my troubles, it had rained the night before, so most of the way was muddy. Church shoes and mud just do not go well together! I slipped and slid along the trail and almost fell a few times.
Still, the walk was enjoyable. We saw many birds, a couple of deer, and stopped occasionally to watch a spider on its web. As we neared the end of the walk, the trail was no longer visible. It was covered with grass. That does not sound like a problem, but here in Kansas the wild grass is over six feet tall! That’s about a foot taller than Eileen and I. We felt like we were in a jungle. If we had not been going fairly close to the trees, we would have become completely disoriented. That stand of trees was our guide. (Ronnie Jay and his friend, who was taller than the grass, were far ahead of us. They were no help at all.) Finally the trail was visible again and soon we were back to the car.
As I was sliding along, I was thinking how like life our little walk was. We have two paths to choose. One is broad and smooth. One is narrow and hard to travel. Jesus says, “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
Which path are we traveling? The easy path seems like the best choice, but if we choose that one, we will perish. The difficult trail will take us through sorrows and heartaches and many trials, but we have a Guide Who has promised, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Ps 32:8 ”I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb 13:5 Most often He teaches us through His Holy Word. David declared, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”Ps 119:105 Just as seeing the treetops guided Eileen and me when we were surrounded by grass high above our heads, so following the Scriptures just as they read without holding to preconceived ideas guides our feet on that pathway of life.
May we choose the steep and rocky path to the Heavenly Kingdom. May we ever look to our loving Savior for the help that we need to stay on that path. May we listen to His gentle voice as He says, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it,’ when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Isa 30:21
Rose