If we would escape having a sickly experience, we must begin in earnest without delay to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. There are many who give no decided evidence that they are true to their baptismal vows. Their zeal is chilled by formality, worldly ambition, pride, and love of self. Occasionally their feelings are stirred, but they do not fall on the Rock, Christ Jesus. They do not come to God with hearts that are broken in repentance and confession. Those who experience the work of true conversion in their hearts will reveal the fruits of the Spirit in their lives. O that those who have so little spiritual life would realize that eternal life can be granted only to those who become partakers of the divine nature, and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust!

The power of Christ alone can work the transformation in heart and mind that all must experience who would partake with Him of the new life in the kingdom of heaven.—Testimonies for the Church 9:155, 156.

There is a noisy zeal, without aim or purpose, which is not according to knowledge, which is blind in its operations and destructive in its results. This is not Christian zeal. Christian zeal is controlled by principle, and is not spasmodic. It is earnest, deep, and strong, engaging the whole soul, and arousing to exercise the moral sensibilities. The salvation of souls and the interests of the kingdom of God are matters of the highest importance. What object is there that calls for greater earnestness than the salvation of souls and the glory of God?—Testimonies for the Church 2:232.
With God at Dawn p. 118
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray that I trust fully in the Lord to guide me. Annie
—-Please pray that God will heal David spiritually and mentally. Buck
—-Pray for Carolyn who is having her arteries cleaned today. Also pray for the father of that little boy who is in the hospital his name is John he had an accident in the kitchen where he works and cut his hand an fingers cut with the machine. he too is in the hospital, but his son is in the children hospital, Also pray for my daughter and grandchildren. thanks M.
—-Please keep me in your prayers. Been vomiting on and off since last night and been having this really bad pain in my stomach. Leah
—-My niece has so many polyps in her sinuses she can barely breathe out of her nose. She’s had 2 surgeries and lots of tests. She may need a shot that costs $3000 a month and not sure about insurance yet. She has suffered a long time with this. Please pray for her. Her name is Tina. Debra
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Dear Friends,

For several years, my mother had a small garden at the back of our neighbor’s yard. It gave her so much pleasure to work in the soil and watch the fruit of her labor develop and grow. The rich, black soil of Kalamazoo brought forth abundantly. She grew green beans, corn, tomatoes, squash, lettuce, radishes, all the produce that she was especially fond of. She had the tomato vines staked up and was proud of the fact that the plants were over her head and full of large, juicy, red fruit.

Since her garden was in the city, many in the neighborhood knew it was there. One day, some teenage boys decided to have some “fun.” They started a fire in her garden and soon the green plants were smoldering. Most of them were ruined. The plants were too lush and green to burn well, so the boys must have used kerosene or something. All of my mother’s care and hard work was for nothing. The garden could not be saved.

My mother smelled the smoke and went outside. She began crying with disappointment and anger. All sorts of emotions filled her as she saw one of the neighborhood boys in that smoldering garden. She was filled with rage and started yelling and threatening him. The youth finally made my mother realize that he was trying to put out the smoldering mess. He gave her the names of the boys who had done this mischief and she contacted the police and their parents.

Just as my mother had misjudged the youth who was trying to help her, so we sometimes are quick to jump to wrong conclusions. How often we misjudge someone’s motives and cause hurt feelings that ruin a person even more than my mother’s garden was ruined. The hurt from our misjudgment can last for years and cause pain beyond our comprehension.

The Great Judge of the Universe warns us, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” Matt 7:1-5 “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:37,38

We all make mistakes. We all make errors in judgment. We have all sinned. (Rom 3:23) Yet, how often we never let a person rise above an error that they may have committed years before. They are looked down upon and made to feel the effects of a misjudgment until their life is destroyed just as surely as was my mother’s garden and we are responsible for their destruction. We will have to answer to the Great God of the Universe for our part in destroying them. Fearful position.

Just as a parent wants His children to get along in harmony, so our Great Creator wants us to be happy, loving, forgiving, kind, and to enjoy being together without mentioning former words or actions. Peter tells us, “above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psa 133:1

Indeed, we must learn to live together in peace and love here in this world, if we expect to live together in the kingdom of Heaven. In that fair land there will be nothing to hurt or annoy. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” What a great and glorious time that will be! To have our Loving Creator take us in His arms and comfort us and wipe away our tears. There will be no misjudging in that Fair Land, no irritations, no disunity there. We will live in love and harmony for there we shall know even as also we are known. (1 Cor 13:12) May we start living a life now that will rightly represent our Great Creator is my prayer.

Rose

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Life is disciplinary. While in the world, the Christian will meet with adverse influences. There will be provocations to test the temper; and it is by meeting these in a right spirit that the Christian graces are developed. If injuries and insults are meekly borne, if insulting words are responded to by gentle answers, and oppressive acts by kindness, this is evidence that the Spirit of Christ dwells in the heart, that sap from the Living Vine is flowing to the branches. We are in the school of Christ in this life, where we are to learn to be meek and lowly of heart; and in the day of final accounts we shall see that all the obstacles we meet, all the hardships and annoyances that we are called to bear, are practical lessons in the application of principles of Christian life. If well endured, they develop the Christlike in the character, and distinguish the Christian from the worldling.

There is a high standard to which we are to attain if we would be children of God, noble, pure, holy, and undefiled; and a pruning process is necessary if we would reach this standard. How would this pruning be accomplished if there were no difficulties to meet, no obstacles to surmount, nothing to call out patience and endurance? These trials are not the smallest blessings in our experience. They are designed to nerve us to determination to succeed. We are to use them as God’s means to gain decided victories over self, instead of allowing them to hinder, oppress, and destroy us. Testimonies for the Church 5:344.

If honesty is an essential principle of business life, must we not recognize our obligation to God—the obligation that underlies every other?—Education, 139
With God at Dawn p. 114
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Prayer Requests
—-My wife has a job interview this afternoon. Please pray that she gets the job if God sees that she would be happy with it. JT
—-Please continue to pray for David. Buck
—-Please pray for my aunt Maria she fell down and fractured her hip she will have surgery on Monday May 3,pray also that they get the blood that she might need that day of her surgery, she is 89 yrs old . Becky
—-Maurice needs prayers. He went to the hospital on Monday. They told him nothing was wrong but they would keep him overnight and let him go home Tuesday. Then yesterday they told him he would be going home this morning. This morning they are telling him he needs open heart surgery. All prayers are greatly appreciated. Donna
—-Please pray for one of my sons safety. This morning when I got up I looked at my phone and found a HORRIBLE DEATH THREAT written to him but sent to my phone accidently. I am so afraid for him and now for myself also. Please pray for God to put a hedge of protection around him and for God to save his soul for eternity. AND PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL OUR FAMILY MEMBERS. TOO BUT ESPECIALLY FOR HIM. Connie
—-Please pray for my husband Charles he keeps getting fluid in his lung and has bladder cancer. They had to postpone the surgery 2 time because of the fluid. Debbie
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Dear Friends,

One day, when I was about four or five, I walked into the dining room just as my grandmother was putting the finishing touches on a beautiful centerpiece. On the large, dark, highly-polished dining room table was a narrow, maroon cloth. Sitting on the cloth was a basket shaped like a horn which she called a cornucopia. In this basket and spilling out from it were all types of fruits and vegetables. My grandmother told me to leave it alone. Then she walked back into the kitchen. I knelt on the chair and visually examined this new centerpiece. The fruit looked so good. It made me so hungry.

Day after day I looked at that tempting display. Day after day I obeyed and kept my hands off from it. Then one day, when no one was around, I decided that I just could not wait another moment. I reached out and picked up a shiny, red apple. As soon as I took a bite, I knew something was wrong. Instead of a sweet, juicy taste, there was no taste at all. It was hard and dry and my teeth could not penetrate very deep. That apple was made of wax. I was so disappointed. I put it back into the display, but it did not look right. I had to adjust the apple in such a way that the tooth marks did not show. Even so, it was not long before my grandmother discovered what I had done. You can imagine what happened next…..

How much like the pleasures of this world that centerpiece was. The world’s pleasures look so inviting, but they do not give us the happiness that we seek. They leave us with an empty feeling after the initial “high” is gone. They do not satisfy. We are like the seed that fell among the thorns in Jesus’ parable of the sower. Jesus says of them, “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” Luke 8:14 As the wise man said, “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.” Prov 21:17 The pleasures of this world leave us spiritually poor, fruitless, twice dead.

Praise God we do not have to be content with the “wax fruit” this world has to offer. David declares, “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Ps 16:11 Paul adds, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:11-14

May we find our true happiness by turning away from the things of this world and keeping our eyes focused on our Dear Saviour and those things which He is preparing for us in His glorious kingdom above is my prayer. (2 Cor 2:9)

Rose

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