For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15.
As Christ’s ministry was about to begin, He received baptism at the hands of John. Coming up out of the water, He bowed on the banks of the Jordan and offered to the Father such a prayer as heaven had never before listened to…. The heavens were opened, and a dove, in appearance like burnished gold, rested upon Jesus; and from the lips of the infinite God were heard the words, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
This visible answer to the prayer of God’s Son is of deep significance to us….
All may find rest and peace and assurance in sending their prayers to God in the name of His dear Son. As the heavens were open to Christ’s prayer, so they will be opened to our prayers….
From the Jordan, Jesus was led into the wilderness of temptation. “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” …
Adam had failed on the point of appetite, and Christ must conquer here. The power that rested upon Him came directly from the Father, and He must not exercise it in His own behalf…. He met and resisted the enemy in the strength of a “Thus saith the Lord.” “Man shall not live by bread alone,” He said, “but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” …
Christ’s experience is for our benefit. His example in overcoming appetite points out the way for those to overcome who would be His followers.
Christ was suffering as the members of the human family suffer under temptation, but it was not the will of God that He should exercise His divine power in His own behalf. Had He not stood as our representative, Christ’s innocence would have exempted Him from all this anguish; but it was because of His innocence that He felt so keenly the assaults of Satan. All the suffering that is the result of sin was poured into the bosom of the sinless Son of God. Satan was bruising the heel of Christ, but every pang endured by Christ, every grief, every disquietude, was fulfilling the great plan of our redemption. Every blow inflicted by the enemy was rebounding on himself. Christ was bruising the serpent’s head.—Youth’s Instructor, December 21, 1899.
From the Heart p. 239
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for our family as Aunt Billie passed away last Monday. Mike
—-I have a private prayer request. Buck
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Dear Friends,
As I was going through things the other day, I found a book my great-great-aunt, Aletha Phillips Spoor had written. She had been an elementary teacher/composer/poet. I had cherished the songbook that she had written but it was destroyed when our house burned to the ground forty-seven years ago. By searching on the Internet some years ago, I was hoping to find a copy but was able to find a book of poems that she had written and bought it. I’d like to share one of her poems called “Making a Garden” with you today.

My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it. Luke 8:21.

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son. Galatians 4:4.

I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. Exodus 9:27.
“My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” …
The only true safety of nations and individuals is to be obedient to the voice of God and to ever stand on the side of truth and righteousness. Pharaoh now humbled himself and said, “I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” He entreated the servants of God to intercede with Him, that the terrific thunder and lightning might cease.
Moses knew that the contest was not ended, for he understood the workings of the human heart that is set in proud defiance against God. Pharaoh’s confessions and promises were not made because there was any change in his mind or heart; but terror and anguish compelled him, for the time being, to yield the controversy with God. Moses, however, promised to grant his request as though his confession was genuine and his repentance sincere, for he would not give him any occasion for future exhibitions of stubbornness….
On going out of the city he “spread abroad his hands unto the Lord: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.” But as soon as the awful exhibitions of divine power had passed, the heart of the king returned to its stubbornness and rebellion.
The Lord was manifesting His power to confirm the faith of His people Israel in Him as the only true and living God. He would give them unmistakable evidences of the difference He placed between the Egyptians and His people. He would cause all nations to know that although they had been bound down by hard labor and had been despised, yet He had chosen them as His peculiar people, and that He would work for their deliverance in a wonderful manner.
By long association with the Egyptians and continually beholding the imposing worship of idols, the Hebrews’ idea of the true and living God had become degraded…. They saw the idolatrous Egyptians enjoying an abundant prosperity, while they were continually taunted with the remark, “Your God has forsaken you.” But by His mighty works, the Lord would now teach His people in regard to His character and divine authority and show them the utter worthlessness of false gods.—Signs of the Times, March 18, 1880.
From the Heart p. 218
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for God to heal a situation that is hurting me. For God to bring healing, restoration, to all parties involved. For God to bring wisdom how to handle it. Jennifer
—-I have an unspoken prayer request for a dear friend’s brother who is very ill. Please pray for him and his doctors and the direction of the Lord in his care plan. Also, please pray for his sister and his daughters.
Thank you all so very much. Jeri
—-Please pray for our family. We were in a head-on collision and have injuries. Mary
—-Please pray for my cousin Angela who had a kidney removed due to a tumor. Brenda
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Dear Friends,
Some years ago, we went on a little vacation to the Oklahoma panhandle within a few miles of the New Mexico border. We saw and photographed many of the animals we were hoping to see. That Sunday morning, we got up early and headed for home. Ronnie Jay and I decided that we would stop at Beaver Sand Dunes as Ron had always wanted to go there. Ron and Ronnie Jay decided to take the mile long nature hike.
With some misgivings, I decided to join them. Big mistake! The first half of the hike was fine. The path was wide and even though it had some “hills” they were not steep. I was enjoying it as much as they were. Ronnie Jay noticed a horned lizard on the path, so he and I took several photos of the little creature. It was such an enjoyable walk that I hardly noticed that the path was getting narrower and a little steeper.
About halfway around, we came upon a grassy area with a wooden bench. We sat down and talked for a few minutes trying to decide what to do. The path for the rest of the hike was quite narrow and overgrown with weeds and sandburs. In my usual “press on regardless” mindset, I decided that I could make it despite the fact that it was obvious that most people had turned around and gone back the way they had come.
Soon it became apparent why few people came on this half of the walk. The narrow path became steeper and steeper, and the sand became deeper and deeper. Ron and I found ourselves getting hot and tired. Up one dune and down the other over and over again left me exhausted. I was puffing like a steam engine and sweating profusely. The path was not as firm as it had been and my shoes filled with scaldingly hot sand.
I reached the point where I felt like I couldn’t go any farther but I had no alternative but to keep going. By this time, Ron was very worried about his overweight and out of shape wife. I was worried about me too! I almost passed out. About the last fourth mile, Ron pushed and Ronnie Jay pulled me up the dunes. After what seemed like an eternity, we came to the point where the two paths joined to go back to the parking lot. What a relief!
As I reflect upon that long-ago dune hike, I feel gratitude to my husband and son for all their effort to get me over those miserable piles of sand. They were both sore and tired from the exertion.
Each of us need someone to help us at one time or another. Indeed, there are struggling ones all around us who are as ready to give up as I was on the last half of the trail.
The Apostle Paul speaks of the necessity and privilege we have of helping our brethren in Christ. To do so, is to follow the example of Jesus. “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Rom 15:1; Phil 2:4-8
May we bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Gal 6:2

Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10.
To the oppressed and suffering Hebrews the day of their deliverance seemed to be long deferred, but in His own appointed time God designed to work for them in mighty power. Moses was not to stand, as he at first anticipated, at the head of armies, with waving banners and glittering armor. That people, so long abused and oppressed, were not to gain the victory for themselves by rising up and asserting their rights. God’s purpose was to be accomplished in a way to pour contempt on human pride and glory. The deliverer was to go forth as a humble shepherd with only a rod in his hand; but God would make that rod powerful in delivering His people from oppression and in preserving them when pursued by their enemies.
Before Moses went forth, he received his high commission to his great work in a way that filled him with awe and gave him a deep sense of his own weakness and unworthiness. While engaged in his round of duties, he saw a bush, branches, foliage, and trunk, all burning, yet not consumed. He drew near to view the wonderful sight, when a voice addressed him from out of the flame. It was the voice of God. It was He who, as an angel of the covenant, had revealed Himself to the fathers in ages past. The frame of Moses quivered, he was thrilled with terror, as the Lord called him by name. With trembling lips he answered, “Here am I.” He was warned not to approach his Creator with undue familiarity: “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” …
Finite creatures may learn a lesson that should never be forgotten—to approach God with reverence. We may come boldly into His presence presenting the name of Jesus, our righteousness and substitute, but never with the boldness of presumption as though He were on a level with ourselves. We have heard some address the great and all-powerful and holy God, who dwelleth in light unapproachable, as they would not address an equal or even an inferior…. God is greatly to be reverenced; wherever His presence is clearly realized, sinners will bow in the most humble attitude.—Signs of the Times, February 26, 1880.
From the Heart p. 211
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Kim and her daughter Lindsey. They are both battling serious health problems. Ron
—-I have several unspoken prayer requests. Buck
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Dear Friends,
Years ago when I was still working, I overheard one co-worker ask another co-worker who works weekends at a place where concerts and other types of shows are held. They were talking about all of the screaming teenage girls who go to a concert by their favorite singer. I remember those days when I did that.
Of course, I grew out of those schoolgirl crushes, but I worked with a woman who never did. Her whole focus was on Elvis Presley. The walls in her office were covered with photographs of him. She loved to talk about this singer whose career ended abruptly from an overdose of sleeping pills.
One time an Elvis impersonator was entertaining in the building where we worked. She made quite a spectacle of herself screaming like a schoolgirl and bowing to him. After the performance, she had this rather poor representation of the former rock star come to her office and showed him all of her memorabilia. One year she even went so far as to burn candles and offer food before a large photo of Elvis on the anniversary of his death. It was quite amazing how she literally worshiped a dead man.