And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17.
The work of your salvation and mine depends wholly upon ourselves, for it rests with us to accept the provision that has been made for us. God has done everything for us that a God can do. Christ has purchased you with His own blood; He has paid the ransom money, that you might be united with God, and separated from sin and sinners. When the heart is opened to Christ, the Holy Spirit will work in it with mighty, renewing power. But in order that we may be laborers together with God, there must be on our part an entire surrender to God. We must, to the extent of our ability, devote ourselves to Him, straining every spiritual sinew, and as faithful soldiers doing service for Christ….
The law of duty [to God] is supreme. It claims authority over reason and conscience, over talents and possessions. It will admit no rival, and will not for one moment abate its high demands. It enters into no compromise with any oppressive power of earth. In every act of duty we are hiding self in Jesus. We reach out beyond ourselves, beyond the narrow scope of selfish and present gratification. Obedience to God brings the soul into agreement with the highest laws in the universe. It imparts dignity and true greatness to the humblest occupation where Christ can preside. It crowns the lowliest position in life with the highest honors, bringing man into alliance with God and binding up his interests with plans and purposes that have existence in the infinite mind from eternity.
The Lord Jesus Christ has paid the price for you, not to secure a mere assent to the truth, but for heart service. He desires the homage of your soul. You cannot cease to believe that you ought to do the will of God. You can no more release yourself from the claims of duty than you can flee from the presence of God. It is only in obedience to God that you will realize true happiness….
I entreat you to open the door of your heart and let your Saviour in. Give Him the whole heart—that which He has purchased. Ever bear in mind that it is you who must choose. God forces no man. He has chosen you, and engraven your name in the palms of His hands. Will you not give yourself fully to Him? Time is short. You have not a moment to lose in hesitation. The divine Word is in your hands, to be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.—Letter 21a, January 11, 1893, to N. D. Faulkhead, treasurer of the Echo Publishing House, and at the time involved with secret societies.
The Upward Look p. 25
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for my dear mother. She is at my home now and I am doing everything I can for her. I am having a hard time getting fluids down her. She acts like she has forgotten how to suck on a straw. She is not herself at all and she seems to go in and out of reality. I have my daughter in law here helping me with her. Please pray that God will restore her to health in body and mind. Connie
—-Please pray for Jeon that God will supply his needs. Roberta
—-Please pray that Samuel’s wife can soon get a visa to join him. Rose
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Dear Friends,
All of my life, I have sneezed and itched because of allergies. My grandmother had never heard of allergies and thought I had a continual cold. She gave me cold medicine all of the time which caused me to lie around a lot because it made me so sleepy. Living in a house full of adults who didn’t communicate well with one another, complicated matters. Sometimes I was given more than one dose.
The older I got, the worse my allergies became until by the time I was in my 40’s, I went to an allergist to get tested to see what I was allergic to. The test results showed that I was allergic to nearly everything. In fact, they found that there were only two items that I was not allergic to out of all the items that they tested me for. I was so desperate to feel better, that I was willing to take four shots twice a week even though I hated needles. Unfortunately, I had such an allergic reaction to the shots, that they had to be stopped. I was so disappointed.
When we moved here, my allergies were even worse. They were so bad, that we considered moving away from this area even though we had bought a mobile home and would have difficulty selling it. Seeing my misery, a lady at our church suggested that I stop using all dairy products and see if that would help. Now that was not easy, as a good share of our diet consisted of milk, cheese, and eggs. I wasn’t sure that I could cook without them, but I was willing to try anything. I found that if I ate anything that had even a component of milk, such as sodium caseinate, I could feel my throat swell and I would get an allergy attack. Just a little bit of dairy acts as a catalyst which makes me react to everything else that I am allergic to. Even so, this was a struggle for me, but I was so miserable with my allergies, that I was willing to do it. Soon my allergies were so much better that I lost my desire for the food that I had formerly loved.
Sin is like those allergens that make me so miserable. Paul likens sin’s working to yeast. “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” 1 Cor 5:6 Hanging on to just a little bit of sin affects our entire life. Allowing just a little bit of sin to remain in our lives affects our judgment. Toying with sin affects not only our life but the lives of those around us.
Our Dear Saviour pleads, “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, 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 Turning completely away from sin is the only solution to be rid of the “sin allergen.” Yet we cannot do this in our own strength. Sin has left us weak and unable to do our Father’s Commandments. Yet He Who bids us turn from sin has provided the Way! “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” 1 John 2:1 Think of it! Our Dear Saviour left the glories of Heaven and the worship of all the unfallen beings throughout the universe to come down to this sinful planet and live a perfect life despite all of the poverty, all of the hatred that the devil could heap upon Him, and finally pour out His life upon the cross (the cruelest way of execution). What love! What wondrous love!
Paul explains, “After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Rom 6:1-4
May we come to Jesus today and receive the cleansing from sin that we so desperately need. May we shun sin even more earnestly than I avoid dairy products which make my allergies worse. May we daily walk with our Redeemer along the pathway that leads to His Heavenly Kingdom is my prayer.
Rose