Witnessing Before the Great Men of the Earth

The time is not far off when the people of God will be called upon to give their testimony before the rulers of the earth. Not one in twenty has a realization of what rapid strides we are making toward the great crisis in our history. . . . There is no time for vanity, for trifling, for engaging the mind in unimportant matters.
Kings, governors, and great men will hear of you through the reports of those who are at enmity with you, and your faith and character will be misrepresented before them. But those who are falsely accused will have an opportunity to appear in the presence of their accusers to answer for themselves. They will have the privilege of bringing the light before those who are called the great men of the earth, and if you have studied the Bible, if you are ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear, your enemies will not be able to gainsay your wisdom.
You now have an opportunity to attain to the greatest intellectual power through the study of the Word of God. But if you are indolent, and fail to dig deep in the mines of truth, you will not be ready for the crisis that is soon to come upon us. O that you would realize that each moment is golden. If you live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, you will not be found unprepared.
You know not where you may be called upon to give your witness of truth. Many will have to stand in the legislative courts; some will have to stand before kings and before the learned of the earth, to answer for their faith. Those who have only a superficial understanding of truth will not be able clearly to expound the Scriptures, and give definite reasons for their faith. They will become confused, and will not be workmen that need not to be ashamed. Let no one imagine that he has no need to study, because he is not to preach in the sacred desk. You know not what God may require of you. Maranatha p. 253
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray that God will lead A to make the right decision in a very large, but necessary, purchase. L
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Dear Friends,

The other day, my grandson, Peter, was carrying a little felt sun that someone had put on a stick. I began singing “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.” He loved it and began waving the sun around while marching around the room. It reminded me of the time when Ronnie Jay was two years old and Eileen’s school had a book sale to raise money for some project. Eileen wanted us to go to this sale. She was hoping that she could have one of the books. We didn’t have much money, but I told her that if we could find a book that was not too expensive, she could have it.

After walking the few blocks to the school, we entered the library where there were many tables piled with books. Thankfully, the books were not too expensive. I had enough to buy one book for each of my children. Round and round the table they went looking at all the colorful pictures on the books’ covers. Finally we selected the ones I felt would be uplifting for them.

Ronnie Jay’s book was a Golden Book of Hymns. It had hymns with pictures of children on each page. How he loved that book! Every day he would carefully look at the pictures. Every day he would ask me to sing all of the songs to him. There was one song that he loved more than any of the others. It was “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.” Every night he wanted that song sung to him as he went to sleep. As I was singing, I would think how appropriate it was that he should like this song. He was a happy, helpful little boy who always had a smile on his face and lots of love in his heart—a real sunbeam.

A few years ago, as I was cleaning out the bookcase we had in our hallway, I found that little book. There are only a few wrinkled pages left, but Ronnie Jay and I looked at it with pleasure remembering all those times when I sang those songs to him. With fond memories we turned to his favorite song and began singing.

Closer than my love for my only son, is the love that God has for us. Indeed, God’s love and care for us far surpasses the love that we have for our most beloved. His Holy Word is His love song to us. From the first words in Genesis to the last words in Revelation, God reveals Himself to us. He is our Creator, Redeemer, Guide, Advocate, Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, our Good Shepherd Who gave His life for us, His sheep.

Sadly, there are earthly mothers who abandon their babies, but God promises that He will not abandon us. He assures us, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” Isa 49:15, 16 Think of it! He Who holds the worlds in space has engraven us upon His hands. Moreover, He lifts those nail-scarred hands up to His dear Father and says, ” My blood, my blood! Father, I have redeemed this dear one from the clutches of the evil one by shedding my blood. “Father, I will that they also…be with me where I am.” John 17:24

May our thoughts turn Heavenward each day. May we, through the eyes of faith, see our loving Saviour standing before the throne interceding for us. May our hearts ever thrill with love for the One Who loves us so.

Rose