Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Ecclesiastes 11:9.
Satan was the first rebel in the universe, and ever since his expulsion from heaven he has been seeking to make every member of the human family an apostate from God, even as he is himself. He laid his plans to ruin man, and through the unlawful indulgence of appetite, led him to transgress the commandments of God. He tempted Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit, and so accomplished their fall, and their expulsion from Eden. How many say, “If I had been in Adam’s place, I would never have transgressed on so simple a test.” But you who make this boast have a grand opportunity of showing your strength of purpose, your fidelity to principle under trial. . . . Does God see no sin in your life? . . .
On every side, Satan seeks to entice the youth into the path of perdition; and if he can once get their feet set in the way, he hurries them on in their downward course, leading them from one dissipation to another, until his victims lose their tenderness of conscience, and have no more the fear of God before their eyes. They exercise less and less self-restraint. They become addicted to the use of wine and alcohol, tobacco and opium, and go from one stage of debasement to another. They are slaves to appetite. Counsel which they once respected, they learn to despise. They put on swaggering airs, and boast of liberty when they are the servants of corruption. They mean by liberty that they are slaves to selfishness, debased appetite, and licentiousness. . . .
Satan is determined to have the human race as his subjects, but Christ has paid an infinite price that man may be redeemed from the enemy, and that the moral image of God may be restored to the fallen race. . . . Fallen men may through Christ find access to the Father, may have grace to enable them to be overcomers through the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour.
Maranatha p. 139
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Marlene who had a skin cancer removed from her nose. Rose
—— Please pray for our little dog Misty. She has allergies that turned into pneumonia. The Vet gave her a steroid shot and put her on antibiotics. Her prognosis is good. Fran
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Dear Friends,
While my mother was staying with us, Ron put in a 04Revival video tape for us to watch. As soon as a close-up of Pastor Doug Bachelor’s face came on the screen, my mother became interested. “This is unusual.” I thought. After a few minutes she remarked, “That man looks like your great-grandfather.” Then she went on to describe her memories of her grandfather. Suddenly, memories of old photos flitted through my mind. She was right. Winfield was not as bald and his face was a little fuller, but the features looked remarkably alike.
That incident sparked my interest in Winfield Scott Harmon’s family tree. When I did a search for his name in the computer, the first entry was the genealogy of my great-grandmother, Ada Delight Austin. As I traced it down, I noticed a few mistakes in spelling and birth dates. I looked farther down the page until I found an email address and sent in the corrections.
When I was in my early teens, my mother had decided to trace our genealogy. She had discovered an old family Bible from her mother’s side of the family. It had names and dates beginning in the late 1700’s. It really sparked her interest. She began to want to know about her ancestors.
Normally, different art forms took all her energies when she came home from work. Whether she did solid embroidery, made animals of fur fabric, or etched Plexiglas, she did it to perfection. This trait, she inherited from her father, who had gotten his artistic talents from his mother. She spent hours researching her “family tree.” Her best source was the older relatives, who could not only give names and dates, but could give interesting details about the people. Carefully she transferred all the information to a large roll of paper. She was very detailed in the various “branches” of the family tree. When she had her mother’s side done to her satisfaction, she then traced her father’s side. I have since added to it as now the internet is available and that makes doing a genealogy much easier. I have added photos and stories to make it more interesting.
The Bible says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Tim 3:16, 17 And so it is. In God’s Holy Word is traced the early genealogy of all mankind. “And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Gen 5:21-24 Paul gives us more information. “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Heb 11:5; So, in all reality, Enoch is the oldest living man. That Enoch was also a prophet there is no doubt for Jude quotes him, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 14
By knowing that Arphaxad was born two years after the flood, we can know when Shem was born and just how old Noah was at the time. This little boy must have given those eight people such joy, such hope. Here they were, the only people in the entire world. It must have been overwhelming. Then two years after being protected from that devastating flood, here was a new life. The first of many. Soon the earth would again be populated. Soon it would be teeming with billions. They would not be alone.
Let us read with interest every part of God’s Word. Let us find the hidden gems within those long genealogies. Let us, by every Word of God be assured that since God’s hand is over all, we can trust Him with our own life.
Rose