And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Genesis 6:13.
In the future there will be broken thrones and great distress of nations with perplexity. Satan will work with intense activity. The earth will be filled with the shrieks of suffering, expiring nations. There will be war. The places of the earth will be in confusion, as from its bowels pour forth its burning contents to destroy the inhabitants of the world who, in their wickedness, resemble the inhabitants of the antediluvian world.
In that time [before the Flood], as in this, there were two classes, the righteous and the wicked. Enoch and others walked with God in uprightness. But the great majority of the inhabitants of the earth were given over to iniquity, and their wickedness rose before God….
God gave direction that an ark was to be built for those who desired to be saved from the coming destruction. He was about to speak in determined language against the wickedness that had grown to fearful proportions. He was about to clothe Himself with vengeance and execute His judgment against the transgressors of His law.—Manuscript 72, 1902 (Manuscript Releases 18:92, 93).
As Noah proclaimed his warning message, some listened and worked with him in building the ark. But they did not endure. Evil influences prevailed. They turned away from the truth to become scoffers.
Thus it will be in the last days of this earth’s history. Those who today hear the message of truth, but do not believe, will fall amid the moral infidelity, even as in Noah’s day those who were not firmly grounded failed to stand till the end of their probation. When the Lord rewards everyone according to his deeds, these people will understand that God is truth, and that His message would have been their life and salvation if they had accepted the evidence given and practiced the conditions laid down. Then they will see that they might have been saved had they not rejected the only means of salvation.
The trials of God’s people may be long and severe, but the Lord never forgets them. Those who believe the truth and obey the commandments will find refuge in Christ. They will have the effectual protection of His ever-loving care as long as they take their position on the side of God and His law, which ever has governed, and ever will govern, His kingdom.—Manuscript 42, 1900.
Christ Triumphant p. 56
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for my husband and his family. His mother is being mistreated by a family member that cares for her. She is 91 yrs old and my husband is praying for help from God to guide him what to do. His mother lives in their home and he doesn’t know what to do. She lives in ____ and we live in another state, so he’s searching for someone to tell him how he can help her. We appreciate your prayers! Cynthia
—–A lady at church said that her boyfriend named Paul has been missing since Thursday and has suicidal thoughts. Please lift him up and may the Holy Spirit come upon Him and lead him home. Thank you. Mike
—–Sedona went to a treatment facility for her alcoholism for about 5 days where the helped her withdraw and is now 20 days sober. Please continue to pray that she continues this path! Mary
—–Please continue to pray for E and children. R
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Dear Friends,
When Eileen was seven, we were in a store looking at baby clothes, since it would not be long before Ronnie Jay would be born. The clerk , smiling, said to Eileen, “It looks like you will soon be a big sister! Isn’t that wonderful?”
Eileen said, “Yes! I prayed and prayed for a baby and finally Jesus said, ‘Oh, all right! You can have one.’ ” Both the clerk and I had a hard time holding in our laughter.
Later, as I reflected upon what my daughter had said, I wondered how many times I had said with exasperation in my voice, “Oh, all right. You can have one.” in answer to her constant begging for something. From that moment I determined that I would not give in to her pleading because I had been inadvertently giving her a wrong idea about prayer and how and why God answers. From then on, I was more careful to explain why I could or could not grant her requests.
Over the years had many conversations with my children explaining that God answers our prayers even when they seem to go unanswered. He knows far better than we do what is best for us. Jesus assures us, “your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matt 6:8; Luke 11:9,10 At first that seems like we will get anything we desire, but that is not the case. Our dear Saviour tells us the conditions for answered prayer, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7
The apostle John adds an additional qualifier to answered prayer. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” 1 John 5:14, 15 James gives us another reason why we do not always get what we ask for, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:3 What a wonderful Heavenly Father we have! He listens to our prayers and weighs each request. Then He gives us an answer that is better than we could ask or think. It may not seem best in our finite judgment but could we see the end from the beginning, we would choose the same. May we have perfect trust and confidence in the answers God gives us to our prayers even if they are not the answers we expect.
Rose