The Purification of the Church

The time is upon us when the miracle-working power of the archdeceiver will be more decidedly revealed. And his deceptions will increase in their delusive attraction, so that they will perplex, and if possible, deceive, the very elect. The prince of darkness with his evil angels is working upon the Christian world, inducing those who profess the name of Christ to stand under the banner of darkness, to make war with those who keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus.

An apostate church will unite with the powers of earth and hell to place upon the forehead or in the hand, the mark of the beast, and prevail upon the children of God to worship the beast and his image. They will seek to compel them to renounce their allegiance to God’s law, and yield homage to the papacy. Then will come the times which will try men’s souls; for the confederacy of apostasy will demand that the loyal subjects of God shall renounce the law of Jehovah, and repudiate the truth of His word. Then will the gold be separated from the dross, and it will be made apparent who are the godly, who are the loyal and true, and who are the disloyal, the dross and the tinsel. What clouds of chaff will then be borne away by the fan of God! Where now our eyes can discover only rich floors of wheat, will be chaff blown away with the fan of God. Every one who is not centered in Christ will fail to stand the test and ordeal of that day. While those who are clothed with Christ’s righteousness will stand firm to truth and duty, those who have trusted in their own righteousness will be ranged under the black banner of the prince of darkness. Then it will be seen whether the choice is for Christ or Belial.

Those who have been self-distrustful, who have been so circumstanced that they have not dared to face stigma and reproach, will at last openly declare themselves for Christ and His law; while many who have appeared to be flourishing trees, but who have borne no fruit, will go with the multitude to do evil, and will receive the mark of apostasy in the forehead or in the hand.

Maranatha p. 204

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Prayer Requests

—–Please pray for me. I’m discouraged and exhausted. L

—–I am requesting that you pray that I have true repentance and knowledge of the Lord. Also I have a lump on my breast. Pray that it is not cancer. Also I would like to find a better job. D

—–update—Jerry has been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. He is sick and they are giving him some really strong antibiotics. Lesley

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Dear Friends,

My grandfather, Edwin Harmon, was the my favorite person as I was growing up. Even though he often worked two jobs, he spent his evenings telling me stories, playing drawing games, making shadow pictures on the wall, or when he was too tired to do anything else, listening to me sing. I thought he was the best person in the world. Anything my grandfather did, was wonderful.

When he was at work, I often played in his room. Everything he had in there fascinated me. I thought it was fun to climb into his large, overstuffed chair and lie upside-down and pretend that the ceiling was the floor and the floor the ceiling. When I would tire of that, I would look at his adventure magazines and fishing magazines and some books he had of the holocaust (those pictures made me shudder, yet I looked at them anyway).

One day when I was four, I decided to explore the contents of the drawer in the little table that was by his chair. Inside, there were a few papers and his plug of Apple Jack chewing tobacco. I picked it up and smelled it. It smelled good. In my childish reasoning, I thought that if it smelled good it must taste good and took a big bite.

Almost instantly I got very sick to my stomach. I spit it out, but I had swallowed enough of the tobacco juice to make me miserable. I didn’t know what to do. I knew that I had done wrong for my grandmother had warned me not to touch it. If I went to her, I would be in big trouble, so I decided to hide. I felt very sick, but I didn’t dare come out. I spent the entire day hiding underneath the dining room table.

Now that I’m older, I’m sure that my grandmother knew where I was and what I had done because she left me there to be miserable. She walked past that large, dark, highly-polished table many times that day but never seemed to notice me. If she had not known my whereabouts, she would have called until she found me. Perhaps she walked by so many times because she was checking to make sure that I was alright, or maybe she was hoping I would come to her and tell her what I had done and ask her forgiveness and ask her for help.

God’s Holy Word tells us, that we all have taken a “bite” of the “chewing tobacco” of sin, and when we do, it makes us as miserable as I was on that long-ago day. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Rom 3:23 We all deserve the “wages of sin” which “is death” (Rom 6:23), yet we have Someone Who will help us if we will only ask Him. Instead of running to Him and asking for forgiveness and help, we think of God as I thought of my grandmother—-someone just waiting to punish me. How that must break His Great Heart of Love.

There is a day of judgment coming, but when He must finally punish those who will not repent, it wrings His heart with anguish. The Bible calls it “His strange act.” Isa 28:21 Peter reminds us, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise…but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 He, Who gave His only begotten Son, yearns for us, longs for us to come to Him. With pleading in His voice, He says, “As I live…I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” Eze 33:11 “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jer 31:3

Let us confess our sins for He has promised forgiveness and cleansing for every sin. (1 John 1:9) Let us flee into His loving arms where we will find rest and comfort, guidance and strength, blessing and grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:16) “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Cor 6:2

Rose