Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger. Zephaniah 2:3.

     There is no sadder spectacle than that of those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ . . . turning to jest the messages graciously sent to them in the gospel, denying the divinity of Christ, and trusting to their own finite reasoning, and to arguments that have no foundation. When tested with affliction, when brought face to face with death, all these fallacies they have cherished will be melted away like frost before the sun.

     How terrible it is to stand by the coffin of one who has rejected the appeals of divine mercy! How terrible to say: Here is a life lost! Here is one who might have reached the highest standard, and gained immortal life, but he surrendered his life to Satan, became ensnared by the vain philosophies of men, and was a plaything of the evil one! The Christian’s hope is an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast, and entereth into that which is within the veil, whither Christ the forerunner is for us entered. We have an individual work to do to prepare for the great events that are before us.

     The youth should seek God more earnestly. The tempest is coming, and we must get ready for its fury by having repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down, and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. Fires will break out unexpectedly, and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. Disasters by rail will become more and more frequent; confusion, collision, and death without a moment’s warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing. Oh, let us seek God while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near! The prophet says: “Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” Maranatha p. 37

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Prayer Requests

—–Please pray for Jan who is caring for her sister who only has weeks to live. John

—– A friend in Nebraska has a son that was killed in an accident, along with one other person……….hit by a semi. Please pray for my friend and her family that has to adjust to this tragic loss. Also for the other person’s family as well. Heartbreaking. Praying God will give them comfort and some extra hugs tonight. Carol

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Dear Friends,

At the end of this month, we all will be getting together for a mini family reunion. It’s been about six years since we have had this privilege. Whenever our children are home, we enjoy spending time reminiscing. Our conversation drifts to places we’ve been, things we’ve seen, and events that have happened in our lives. It is a fun time of togetherness. We are looking forward to this happy time.

I remember once when Esther had come back home for a visit and we were sitting around talking, Ron began complaining about the many plants that Eileen was growing in our house.   He said he felt like he lived in a jungle. She retorted that she was going to get some Kudzu for a house plant. Then he’d really live in one!

Eileen’s comment brought protests from Ron and a funny comment from me about waking up in the morning and being trapped in our beds because the vine would have filled the house.  Often we had seen that vine cover large areas of ground, trees, telephone poles and wires, and attempting to “crawl” onto the roads of the Southeastern United States. The conversation continued to get funnier as each made their contribution to the scenario.

As we were talking, I began to think how much Kudzu is like sin. It is a pretty vine with fragrant purple flowers, but left unattended, it quickly takes over an area choking out the other plants. Sin is like that. One little sin cherished in our lives can take root and grow much larger than we could ever anticipate.  Soon it takes over and chokes us spiritually. One little sin stubbornly held onto can separate us from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you.” Isa 59:1,2

What pain it brings to His great heart of love as He sees the sins grow in our lives and we will not allow Him to take them away. He pleads with us, “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, 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 “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” Isa 45:22 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jer 29:11-13

May we allow Him to dig out the roots of the Kudzu vines of sin that bind us, so that we may be set free. May we allow Him to untangle us from those sin-cords that have bound us for so long. May we let go of our cherished sins and cling to our Great Redeemer Who loves us so much that He gave His Life for us is my prayer. 

Rose

Troubles on All Sides
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