While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18.
For forty days and nights He [Christ] fasted in the wilderness of temptation, and there Satan came to Him with great power, hoping to overcome Him in His weakness. The temptations then brought upon Christ were in every way greater than those brought upon Adam, but the Redeemer did not swerve a hairsbreadth from His allegiance to God….
Although it may seem that you are alone, yet you are not alone, for Christ is with you; you are in blessed company. And you have the words sounding down along the line from the prophets and apostles to encourage you in steadfastness. Many of these holy people lost their lives because of their faithfulness to God. If you suffer for the truth’s sake, remember that this is no more than others have done before you. What trials and afflictions Paul endured, and yet he says, “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” …
When difficulties arise, as they will, remember that Jesus is by your side, a very present help in time of need. To meet trial bravely is part of the Christian warfare, and in this warfare all heaven is interested. Christ knows what temptations you will meet. He knows that when one accepts the truth he or she will have a cross to lift, and He is ready to give the needed help.
Let the light of truth shine forth in your life. Do you say, How shall I let it shine? If before you accepted the truth, sanctifying influence upon your heart and character, that instead of being fretful and impatient, you are now cheerful and uncomplaining. Thus you reveal Christ to the world….
At the moment when you are offering your prayer for help, you may not feel all the joy and blessing that you would like to feel; but if you believe that Christ will hear and answer your petition, the peace of Christ will come.—Manuscript 8, 1885.
Christ Triumphant p. 205
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Prayer Requests
—-I am divourced because of my husbands’ marital infidelity and abuse. My children need a good daddy. Please pray that God will bring me a good Christian man who will be kind and gentle and lead them to Jesus. E
—-Please pray for my grandson Ayden. He’s almost fourteen, and they just found that he has diabetes.. And he also has scoliosis, and it’s getting worse quickly. He is also autistic. Debra
—-Please pray for a friend who is troubled and oppressed by spirits trying to torture her. Mel
—-PLease keep praying for healing! Buddy is still having some issues with his eye and leg. Both have improved. We go tomorrow to the eye doctor. We need prayers for his upcoming back surgery . It is still scheduled for Thursday. Kay
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Dear Friends,
My mother was an artist with an artist’s temperament—nothing satisfied her for long. Everything that she made looked real and done to perfection, but she had to be in the mood to make it. She did beautiful glass etchings for awhile and then never did them again. Then she tried Indian bead-work, but that did not satisfy her. She did pen and ink drawings for awhile, but soon tired of that. Solid embroidery held her interest the longest. For years, when she wasn’t at work, she would make the most beautiful pictures, even going to the library to look at many photos of whatever she was embroidering in order to make it appear real. Her last embroidery project was a quilt of all the (then) 48 states for which she won the golden state award.
Over the years her interest went from one thing to another, stuffed animals that looked so real that it was hard to believe that they weren’t alive, transforming her long, narrow screened porch into a jungle scene, macramé, designing and making her own clothes, plastic canvas creations…. Nothing satisfied her for long. Eventually dementia took away her love for and desire for her art projects and she sold or threw away everything including her blue ribbons and that golden award she of which she had been so proud. What a sad end to a very creative life.
How often we are as dissatisfied as was my mother. No matter how we fill our days, we feel like something is missing. We often are attracted to the pleasures of this world to try to quiet that inner longing, but we find only emptiness there. We try many different things innocent of themselves to try to find happiness, but we soon realize that they, too, leave us flat. Our restlessness increases. Life is short and soon passes away. It is amazing how quickly time flies. Peter tells us, “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.” 1 Peter 1:24 We have so few days to make the most important decision of all— “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” Matt 27:22 Our answer to that question will make our life complete and bring us the hope of eternal life, or leave us even more restless and incomplete.
Truly, without Jesus we are incomplete. He is the only answer to that inner longing that is within us. He is the only One Who can quiet our restlessness. When He dwells within our heart, all of our longings are satisfied. Jesus bids us, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, 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.” Matt 11:28-30 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Rev 3:20
Moreover, when we give our life completely to Jesus, He imparts to us the Holy Spirit Who implants within us His fruit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.” Then we have a peace, a satisfaction found nowhere else. We become changed. Paul tells us, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
As we behold our Dear Saviour and His great sacrifice for us, we find the answer to our longing. We have the assurance that there is Someone Who truly loves us, Someone Who really cares about us. His love is more sure than even a mother’s love for her helpless babe. 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 May we open our heart’s door to Jesus Who gave Himself for us.
Rose