Who Receives the Seal?

Only those who receive the seal of the living God will have the passport through the gates of the Holy City. . . .
The seal of the living God will be placed upon those only who bear a likeness to Christ in character.
As wax takes the impression of the seal, so the soul is to take the impression of the Spirit of God and retain the image of Christ.
Many will not receive the seal of God because they do not keep His commandments or bear the fruits of righteousness.
The great mass of professing Christians will meet with bitter disappointment in the day of God. They have not upon their foreheads the seal of the living God. Lukewarm and halfhearted, they dishonor God far more than the avowed unbeliever. They grope in darkness, when they might be walking in the noonday light of the Word, under the guidance of One who never errs. . . .
Those whom the Lamb shall lead by the fountains of living waters, and from whose eyes He shall wipe away all tears, will be those now receiving the knowledge and understanding revealed in the Bible, the Word of God. . . .
We are to copy no human being. There is no human being wise enough to be our criterion. We are to look to the man Christ Jesus, who is complete in the perfection of righteousness and holiness. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the pattern man. His experience is the measure of the experience that we are to gain. His character is our model. Let us, then, take our minds off the perplexities and the difficulties of this life, and fix them on Him, that by beholding we may be changed into His likeness. We may behold Christ to good purpose. We may safely look to Him; for He is all-wise. As we look to Him and think of Him, He will be formed within, the hope of glory.
Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand.
Maranatha p. 241
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for David who has abdominal mesothelioma and is not doing well.
—–Ron Halverson has passed away and is awaiting the resurrection.Please pray for the Halverson family during this time of loss.
—–Please pray for the many evangelism events that are taking place now or in the near future. Diane
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Dear Friends,

When Ronnie Jay was four years old, we had some neighbors who had a little boy about the same age. His name was Sammy. The two boys played together happily most of the time. There was one habit Sammy had, however, that caused problems between them. If Ronnie Jay would forget to bring all his toys inside, Sammy would take the ones he wanted. He would put them in his toy box that was loaded with nicer toys than Ronnie Jay had.

When Ronnie Jay would notice that his toy was missing, we would go over to Sammy ‘s house. His mother would get so angry that we would even suggest that her son would take Ronnie Jay ‘s toys. She would look in her son’s toy box and tell us that all the toys were his. We would not argue about this, but tried to keep the two boys apart and make sure that he did not leave anything outside when he was finished playing.

One day Eileen noticed that the mother was not there and the father was outside working on his car. She took her younger brother by the hand and marched over next door. She explained what had been happening. The father was saddened by this bit of news. He then went inside and brought out Sammy ‘s toy box. He then told them that they could look through the box and take whatever belonged to Ronnie. He told them that he did not want his son to think it was OK to take other’s things and grow up to be a thief.

This made a big impression on Eileen. Sammy’s mother spent many hours telling us what a great Christian she was, and how bad her husband was because he did not go to church. Yet the husband did the right thing and was concerned for his son. She wondered if the biggest hindrance to the man’s conversion was the wife.

Our witness can draw others to our Loving Saviour, or it can make them turn away from their only Helper. Jesus gave a command to his followers just before He ascended to Heaven. He said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 He planned for them to start their witnessing close to home and from there spread His Great Message of Love to the entire world.

He asks us to do the same. He says to us as He said to the disciples of old, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matt 26:19, 20

How is our witness in our home, to our neighbors, to our co-workers? Are we concerned for their souls? Are we leading them to the Saviour by our example as well as by our words? There is a little song that we used to sing that asks this question. I can only remember the chorus.

Can the world see Jesus in you?
Can the world see Jesus in me?
Do our hearts to Him ring
And our life and service too?
Can the world see Jesus in me, in you?

May we, as we behold Him in His Holy Word, be changed into His image. May those about us see in us a reflection of our loving Saviour. May our thoughts, our words, and our actions rightly represent the One Who loves us so.

Rose