This parable is of great importance to all who are entrusted with responsibilities in the Lord’s service. God selected a people to be educated by Christ. He brought them into the wilderness to be trained for His service, and there gave them the highest code of morality—His holy law. To them was committed God’s lesson book, the Old Testament Scriptures. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud Christ led them in their wilderness wandering. By His own power He transplanted the wild vine from Egypt to His vineyard. Well might God ask, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done?” (Isaiah 5:4).

It is impossible to enumerate the advantages the Lord prepared for the world in making the Jewish nation the repository of His rich treasures of knowledge. They were the subjects of His special favor. As a people who knew and worshiped the true God, they were to communicate the principles of His kingdom. They were instructed by the Lord. He withheld from them nothing favorable to the formation of characters which would make them fit representatives of His kingdom. Their feasts, the Passover, the Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, and the ceremonies attending these gatherings, were to proclaim the truths that God had entrusted to His people. At these gatherings the people were to show gladness and joy, expressing their thanksgiving for their privileges and the gracious treatment of their Lord. Thus they were to show to a world that knew not God that the Lord does not forsake those who trust in Him. With joyful voices they were to sing, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 43:5)….

The history of the children of Israel is written for our admonition and instruction upon whom the ends of the world are come. Those who would stand firm in the faith in these last days, and finally gain an entrance into the heavenly Canaan, must listen to the words of warning spoken by Jesus Christ to the Israelites. These lessons were given to the church in the wilderness to be studied and heeded by God’s people throughout their generations forever. The experience of the people of God in the wilderness will be the experience of His people in this age. Truth is a safeguard in all time to those who will hold fast the faith once delivered to the saints.—Manuscript 110, August 6, 1899, “The Unfaithful Husbandmen.”
The Upward Look p. 232
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Prayer Requests
—-Today Ron has several job interviews. Please pray for God’s leading. Also please pray for travelling mercies for Esther and the children. Rose
—-Please pray for my little granddaughter. She is 11 years old and she is having very scary things happening in her room at night and also during the day. Pray that she will have protection from these demonic forces. Connie
—-Urgent prayer request for healing for my boyfriend’s grandmother that is now admitted to the hospital. Charlene
—-Please pray for my husband who is battling sickness. Gloria
—-Please pray that my back will settle down. I am in a lot of pain. Eileen
—-Prayer request: Maya sees pulmonology today! First and foremost, pray that they can give us some answers as to what is going on to cause these ALTE’s (Apparent Life-Threatening Event) as well as the constant congestion Maya has had. Second, pray that pulmonology can work with GI and get him to order some specific tests that he is currently refusing to do despite the fact that Maya will already be put under for others and these tests could go a long way in figuring out what is going on and how to best treat it. This GI and I do not get along but he is the only pediatric gastroenterologist in the state, so we are stuck with him. If our meeting with pulmonology today doesn’t help then I’m going to have to get patient advocacy involved. So, just prayers please! Jennifer
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Dear Friends,
When she was a teenager, Esther and some friends went into a cave while on a walk to see the beauties God has created. As they entered the cave, they realized that the group only had one flashlight and it was not very bright. Still, with the exuberance of youth, they continued. For a few minutes, they had the daylight behind them, but as they crawled through a tunnel, no more light could be seen. All was blackness. Their only source of light was that one, small, dim flashlight and they were not even sure how long its batteries would last.
As they got further into the cave, Esther and a couple of others decided that it would not be wise to continue trusting in the dim flashlight. They didn’t want to get lost and confused in the dark if it went out. As the friends sat in the dark waiting for the others to return, they wished for some light—any light. Finally, one of them remembered the light on their watch. How comforting that tiny light was! In the total darkness it was surprising how brightly it shone.
It is the same way in our life. Without Jesus Who is “the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” we are in as total a darkness as they were in that cave. John 1:9 Sadly, we sometimes turn from the Light and explore the things this world has to offer. When we do this, the Light is behind us and the farther we go from the Source of all Light, the less we can see.
Suddenly realizing that we are in darkness, we look around for light, any light, even a tiny light to show us the way. Sometimes we follow someone who says they have the light, but their light is the dim and shaky light of their own making just as the main part of the cave “explorers” were relying on the flashlight with weak batteries. Their light will go out just when we have the most need. Sometimes we rely on another’s light which they have only because of their connection with the True Light. We stay so close to them that it seems that we too have that True Light, but when it is needed most, we are left in darkness. (Matt 25:1-13)
Jesus is the Source of True Light. When our life is in harmony with His, we become lights ourselves by reflecting His Light. We may think we are only a small light as was that tiny light from the digital watch, but in the darkness of this sinful, old world, but how brightly He will shine through us. Only then can we truly point others to the Great Light of the World that they also may be ready to meet our Soon-Coming King.
May we always keep our eyes on Jesus receiving of His Light that He may truly declare of us, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matt 5:14-16

Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/KHGFxfhN01Q/written-for-our-admonition.html