I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:13.
Are you one that makes mistakes? Go to Jesus, and ask Him to forgive you, and then believe that He does. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Ask the Lord to pardon your errors. Then rejoice in Him.
It will not help you in the least to keep mourning over your defects. Say, “Lord, I cast my helpless soul on Thee, and Thee alone. I will not worry, because Thou hast said, ‘Ask, and ye shall receive.’” Believe that you do receive. Believe that your Saviour is full of compassion, full of tender pity and love. Let not little mishaps trouble you. Small mistakes may be ordered by the Lord to save you from making larger mistakes.
Act your part in helping yourself, as all must do who would be blessed. Believe that Christ helps you. Refuse to speak a word of unbelief. When the enemy tells you that the Lord has forsaken you, tell him that you know He has not, for He declares, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13)….
Instead of bemoaning your weakness, and talking unbelief, and feeling that you are hardly used [i.e., abused], begin to sing. Talk of the mercy and love of God. To all who labor and are heavy laden, Christ gives the invitation, “Come unto me, … and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). This is the lesson that Christ desires you to learn, and in learning it you will find rest….
Study the life that Christ lived while on this earth. He did not disregard the simplest, smallest duty that fell to Him. Perfection marked all that He did.
Look to Jesus for help, and this will enable you to perform your daily duties with the grace and dignity of one who is seeking for a crown of immortal life. We dwell much on the grandeur of Christ’s life. We speak of the great things that He accomplished, of the miracles that He wrought, speaking peace to the tempestuous waters, opening the ears of the deaf, raising the dead. But His attention to small things is even higher proof of His greatness and His compassion.—Letter 72, April 28, 1903, to a lay sister in Maine.
The Upward Look p. 132
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Prayer Requests
—-Needing prayer my daughter Jenni. Julie
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Dear Friends,
My grandfather, Edwin Harmon, hated his father because of the unjust and just plain meanness of the man. Often as a person ages, they mellow out. Not my great-grandfather. He stayed mean to the day he died. One of the most vivid memories my mother has of him was of them riding in his car. She, her sister, and father were sitting in the back seat. Her grandfather was driving while smoking a big, fat cigar.
The car was filled with foul-smelling smoke from it. They could barely breathe yet were not allowed to open any of the windows. My grandfather tried to ease down the window just a little to let in some fresh air. As soon as his father realized it, he would get a sneer on his face and order my grandfather to roll the window up again. Meekly he would do so even though he seethed inside with the injustice.
Many people think our Great Creator is like my great-grandfather. They picture Him as severe and unloving and continually looking for ways to make our lives miserable. They picture Him as watching for reasons punish us. This is as the evil one would have it. He misrepresents God’s character by describing his own. It is the devil who causes all of the sorrow, pain, and misery that fills our planet.
Our Father in Heaven is not like that at all! He assures us, “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.” Jer 29:11 “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
“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Ps 103:8-12
With tears in His voice our Dear Saviour pleads, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jer 31:3 “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 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” Isa 1:18,19
As dry grass burns quickly, so when God must destroy those who have refused His grace, He does so quickly and completely. ” For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Mal 4:1 As a candle consumes completely away, so “the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.” Ps 37:20
May we discover our Great Redeemer’s true character as we daily study His Holy Word. May we see our Heavenly Father as He truly is—loving and kind, just and fair, the Giver of all true happiness and goodness. May we respond to His lovingkindness by loving and serving Him with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our strength is my prayer.
Rose