A man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority, … was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. Acts 8:27-29.
A heavenly messenger was sent to Philip [one of the chosen deacons] to show him his work for the Ethiopian. The evangelist was directed: “Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.” …
Today, just as much as then, the angels are leading and guiding those who will be guided and led. This angel could have done the work himself, but this is not God’s way of working. Believers must connect with other believers, and as God’s instrumentalities work in behalf of the lost.
Philip understood his work. This man of high authority was being drawn to the Saviour, and he did not resist the drawing. He did not make his high position an excuse why he could not accept the crucified One. The evangelist asked him, “Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him” and explain to him the Word of God….
“Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest…. And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” …
While angels from heaven are doing their work, evil agencies are working to draw the mind to something else. Satan is interposing obstacles, so that the inquiring mind that would understand the Word of God shall become confused. Thus he worked with Christ in the wilderness of temptation. The experience of Christ is placed on record that we may understand the methods and plans of Satan. Had Philip left the eunuch with his case hanging in the balance, he might never have accepted the Saviour. Evil angels were waiting for their opportunity when they could press in their falsehoods and divert the newly awakened mind from seeking after truth. The Lord’s agencies must be wholly consecrated to His service, that they may be quick to understand their work. As wise stewards they must take advantage of every circumstance to teach the grace of God and draw people to Christ.—Manuscript 11, 1900.
Christ Triumphant p. 308
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Prayer Requests
—-I have an unspoken prayer request. Please pray. Buck
—-Please pray for me, my husband died almost 2 years ago and I’m still struggling. A
—-Prayers for my friend Jaclyn and her son Joey. Jaclyn will have a heart procedure on Tuesday. She is hoping this will help deal with her health issue as they have determined her episodes that looked like seizures were actually related to her heart. Joey will be having several small procedures done on Thursday. Prayers for good reports and quick recoveries. Jennifer
—-Please pray for the family of a friend who has died. R
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Dear Friends,
Today, we had a baptism at church. It reminded me of the time when we lived in Washington state at one of our church’s campouts our son was baptized. Joy filled my heart! Although he was only about ten, Ronnie Jay had been through Bible studies as well as having the benefit of family worship morning and evening from birth and had a great desire to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Surrounded by the beauties of nature, we sat on benches and listened as the pastor spoke of the meaning of baptism and then questioned those who were getting baptized.
Then we followed him down to the ice cold Columbia River where the baptism would take place. It was a cold, overcast day with an icy wind blowing. Little chunks of ice even floated in the current. Yet the weather could not extinguish the happiness that we felt to see our son take this important step in his life. As the pastor followed the instruction of our Dear Saviour baptizing him “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” our hearts swelled with joy. Matt 28:19
Our Great Exemplar sanctified baptism by being baptized. “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matt 3:17 Think of it! The Sinless One came to John to be baptized that He might be our example in all things. I have heard it said that His baptism also covers all who find it impossible to be baptized such as someone repenting and accepting Him on their deathbed. How good and kind He is!
Sometime later, in His midnight interview with Nicodemas, (John 3) He declared that we must not only be baptized by water baptism but must receive a daily baptism of His Holy Spirit, that we may “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.” Titus 2:12,13 How much we need the power to live good, obedient Christian lives. Paul tells us, “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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Rom 6:3-6
How vital it is that there is a daily working of the Holy Spirit upon our heart. Only then can we truly become a new creature made after the Likeness of the Crucified One. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Cor 5:17 May we come to our Loving Redeemer to receive the cleansing from sin that He yearns give us. May we receive that daily baptism of the Spirit that He longs for us to have. May “we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, [be] changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 3:18
Rose

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8.
After His resurrection, Christ ascended to His appointed honor. Before the heavenly universe and the worlds unfallen He was to be enthroned. The Father would impress the minds of the believers with the glorious reception of His Son in the home He had left. For our sake He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich….
As Christ ascended, His hands were outstretched in blessing upon His disciples. While they stood gazing upward to catch the last glimpse of their ascending Lord, He was received by the heavenly throng into the rejoicing ranks of cherubs and seraphs. And as they escorted Him to His heavenly home, they sang in triumph, “Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; … that rideth upon the heavens of heavens.”
Christ determined to bestow a gift on those who had been with Him and on those who should believe on Him, because this was the occasion of His ascension and inauguration, a jubilee in heaven. What gift could Christ bestow rich enough to signalize and grace His ascension to the mediatorial throne? It must be worthy of His greatness and His royalty. Christ gave His representative, the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. This Gift could not be excelled….
On the day of Pentecost Christ gave His disciples the Holy Spirit as their Comforter. It was ever to abide with His church. During the whole Jewish economy the influence of this Spirit had often been revealed in a marked manner, but not in full. The Spirit had been waiting for the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. For ages prayers had been offered for the fulfillment of the promise, for the impartation of the Spirit; and not one of these earnest supplications had been forgotten. Now for ten days the disciples sent up their petitions, and Christ in heaven added His intercession. He claimed the gift of the Spirit, that He might pour it out upon His people…. [Christ] having reached His throne, the Spirit was given as He had promised, and like a rushing, mighty wind, it fell upon those assembled, filling the whole house. It came with a fullness and power, as if for ages it had been restrained, but was now poured forth upon the church, to be communicated to the world. What followed this outpouring? Thousands were converted in a day.—Manuscript 44, 1898.
Christ Triumphant p. 301
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Prayer Requests
—-Please continue to pray for E and her children. R
—-Lift my daughter Sancia and my Nephew Shem and Seth in prayers as they are going to sit for their final Exams this end month. EN
—-Please pray for a friend of Emma’s step-dad who is in ICU. Also please pray for Mike as he has a very important doctor’s appointment this week. Rose
—-I am requesting prayers for the mother-in-law of a dear friend’s son. She needs a kidney transplant desperately and my friend’s son was found to be a perfect match. Now just days before the surgery, the test on my friend’s son came back negative and they don’t know what to do. They’ve had to postpone the transplant surgery. Needless to say, everyone is reeling right now. I’m praying for God to carry them through this. Kathy
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Dear Friends,
When we moved to Washington state, the church that we attended often had social functions where the members could bond and become like a family. Sometimes we would go to a campground for the weekend or out to a lake for the day. Some of the church members who had really nice houses invited the members and their friends to a picnic.
Over the years, Esther often reminisced about the first picnic that we attended there. It left quite an impression on her six year old mind. Jerry and Judy had opened their home for a church get-together. That year there had been a lot of rain and behind their house it was flooded because the creek had risen too high. They had a campfire and picnic table on the bluff in the front yard, so they did not have to cancel the church social.
Of course, the adults sat around the campfire talking while the children took turns paddling around in the shallow water in a canoe. Esther and her friend, Gene, begged to have a turn. Against my better judgment, I said yes. As I watched them having so much fun, I wondered why I had been hesitant to allow my little girl to get into the canoe. About that time, the canoe somehow tipped over. The water was not deep, but they got really wet. As the children waded to higher ground, Esther was very distressed because she lost one of her pink patent leather shoes in the mud. Those shoes were her favorites. She only had two pair of shoes (one pair for church and one for everyday), so she really needed those shoes. She began to cry.
Gene’s father rescued them out of the water and mud, wrapped them in a blanket and held them on his lap. To quiet the whimpering child, he told her, “Don’t cry, your shoe will grow a pink shoe tree, and then you will have all of the pink shoes you every wanted.” That thought dried her tears. She believed him.
For several years Esther would go out into Jerry’s backyard looking for a pink shoe tree to poke its head out of the ground. As she matured, she realized the impossibility of such a thing and realized that he was only trying to make her feel better.
How careful we must be in what we tell little children. They have perfect trust, perfect confidence in us. They believe what we say. They watch what we do. They model our words and actions. As a twig that is bent when young and pliable grows in that particular shape, so little children become what we teach them by precept and example.
Our Dear Saviour used a little child to teach the disciples an important lesson. “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 18:1-4 Jesus wants us to have the same perfect trust and confidence in Him as does a little child in his parents. He desires us to believe His promises with our whole heart. “Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Heb 11:6
May we have the confidence of a little child in our Loving Heavenly Father. May we love and trust Him with our whole heart. May we be careful what we teach our little ones for He warns, “whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. . . . Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Matt 18:6, 10

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Luke 24:49.
Having magnified the law and made it honorable by accepting its conditions in saving a world from ruin, Christ hastened to heaven to perfect His work, and to accomplish His mission by sending the Holy Spirit to His disciples. Thus He would assure His believing ones that He had not forgotten them, though now in the presence of God where there is fullness of joy forevermore.
The Holy Spirit was to descend on those in this world who loved Christ. By this they would be qualified, in and through the glorification of their Head, to receive every endowment necessary for the fulfilling of their mission. The Life-giver held in His hands not only the keys of death but a whole heaven of rich blessings. All power in heaven and earth was given to Him, and having taken His place in the heavenly courts, He could dispense these blessings to all who receive Him….
The Holy Spirit was sent as the most priceless treasure the world could receive. The church was baptized with the Spirit’s power. The disciples were fitted to go forth and proclaim Christ, first in Jerusalem, where the shameful work of dishonoring the rightful King had been done, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. The evidence of the enthronement of Christ in His mediatorial kingdom was given….
The Father gave all honor to His Son, seating Him at His right hand, far above all principalities and powers. He expressed His great joy and delight in receiving the crucified One and crowning Him with glory and honor. And all the favors He has shown to His Son in His acceptance of the great atonement are shown to His people. Those who have united their interests in love with Christ are accepted in the Beloved. They suffered with Christ in His deepest humiliation, and His glorification is of great interest to them, because they are accepted in Him. God loves them as He loves His Son. Christ, Emmanuel, stands between God and the believer, revealing the glory of God to His chosen ones, and covering their defects and transgressions with the garments of His own spotless righteousness….
If God’s people will sanctify themselves by obedience to His precepts, the Lord will work in their midst. He will renew humble, contrite souls, making their characters pure and holy.—Manuscript 128, 1897.
Christ Triumphant p. 294
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for God’s guidance and protection for E and her children. R
—-Please pray for my Nephew Diego, He is in ER, he has Cancer IV Phase he is 28 YO, But God has disolved the Spinal Tumors , Recovery is so Slow , just Take a minute and Pray for his soon discharge, Chris
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Dear Friends,
Many years ago when our dog Junior was still alive, Ron, Ronnie Jay, and I were talking about going for a walk at Pawnee Prairie to see if we could get some better pictures of the deer or any other animals there. As we were talking, Junior went and got his leash and placed it in front of the door. Then he ran back and forth expectantly.
We had not planned on taking him as we felt that would spoil any chances of seeing any animals. Yet, when I saw how much that little dog wanted to go with us, I became his advocate. Finally, I convinced Ronnie Jay that we didn’t have to take pictures every time we took a walk. Junior got to go. Ronnie Jay took his camera anyway. I did not take mine.
We had just barely gotten down the path, when we saw a young deer grazing in a grassy patch just to the left of the trail. Within a few feet of the deer was a squirrel foraging in the grass. (Junior didn’t even notice.) Ronnie Jay began snapping pictures. The deer continued eating and only looked at us occasionally. We could tell that the deer was a little nervous, however. He kept raising his left front foot, yet he stayed his ground. Ronnie Jay continued taking pictures. How I wished I had had my camera!
Ron suggested that Ronnie Jay try getting closer. Ronnie Jay took a couple of steps but froze in his tracks when the deer looked up. A few more steps and the deer had had enough. Off he bounded, yet he did not go too far. We followed and Ronnie Jay was able to get a few more photos before the deer decided he would pose no longer. Oh! If I’d only brought my camera!
Just as I was unprepared for our encounter with the deer, so many will be unprepared for the coming of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. How they will wish they had been prepared to meet their Lord! But it will be too late. There is no second chance. Their future is forever sealed. With remorse and terror they will cry, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!” Jer 8:20
Jesus gave many parables to help us to remember to be prepared. “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:35-37 “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matt 24:42-25:13
“The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” 1 Peter 4:7
Rose

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. Revelation 3:21.
Satan is wrestling and battling for our souls. He casts his hellish shadow right athwart our pathway…. Look away from his power to the One that is mighty to save to the utmost. Why doesn’t your faith plow through the shadow to where Christ is? He has led captivity captive and given gifts unto His followers. He will teach you that Satan claims every soul that does not join with him as his property.
Satan is the author of death. What did Christ do after He brought Satan under the dominion of death? The very last words of Christ while expiring on the cross were “It is finished” (John 19:30). The devil saw that he had overdone himself. Christ by dying accomplished the death of Satan and brought immortality to light.
And after Christ came up from the resurrection, what did He do? He grasped His power and held His scepter. He opened the graves and brought up the multitude of captives, testifying to everyone in our world, and in creation, that He had the power over death and that He rescued the captives of death.
Not all who believed in Jesus were brought to life at that time. It was only a specimen of what would be, that we may know that death and the grave are not to hold the captives, because Christ took them to heaven. And when He comes again with power and great glory, He will open the graves. Again the prison house will be opened, and the dead will come forth to a glorious immortality.
Here are the trophies that Christ took up with Him and presented to the universe of heaven and the worlds that God had created. Any affection that they ever had for Lucifer, who was the covering cherub, is now destroyed. God gave him a chance to work out his character. If He had not done this, there might have been those who felt the accusation he [Lucifer] brought against God, that He didn’t give him a fair chance, was justified.
The Prince of life and the prince of darkness were in conflict. The Prince of life prevailed, but at an infinite cost. His triumph is our salvation…. Did not our Saviour have something to overcome? Did He not keep up the battle with the prince of darkness until He was a victor on every point? Then He left the work right in the hands of His followers. We have something to do.—Manuscript 1, 1889.
Christ Triumphant p. 287
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Marvin who is having surgery Monday. Rose
—-Please pray that God will guide and protect E and her children. R
—-Please pray for us as we find a way to some property we own in another state. Marilynn
—-Please pray for our caregiver, Pamela. She is at the hospital for tests, and in a lot of pain. Sylvia
—-Please pray for Ron. He is having a lot of lung trouble. Rose
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Dear Friends,
One day some years ago, a young couple with a baby came into our office trying to find the courtroom where they needed to be. As Bev and I tried to help them, I noticed a sour odor filling the room. They were dirty and disheveled, and I began to wonder why someone would appear in court in that condition. I was glad when they went their way. Now the air would be more pleasant.
Strangely, throughout the day, I would occasionally get a whiff of that same sour odor. Toward the end of the day, I suddenly realized that the smell wasn’t coming from that couple after all. The source of the smell was coming from something at my own workstation that had been forgotten until it looked like a science experiment. How embarrassed and ashamed I felt for “looking down my nose” at those people, when the fault was with me all along.
How careful we should be in our attitudes toward others. “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” James 2:13 Our Dear Saviour bids 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
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” Rom 2:1-3
May we “judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” John 7:24 May we “love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” 1 Peter 1:22 May our thoughts, attitudes, motives, words, and actions be pleasing in the sight of the Great Judge is my prayer.
Rose

But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? John 18:39.
The great controversy between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness has not abated one jot or tittle of its influence as time has gone on….
In our behalf Christ met the specious temptations of Satan and left to us an example as to how to overcome Satan in the conflict. He exhorts His followers, saying, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Satan has made masterly efforts to perpetuate sin. He arrayed all his evil agencies to war against Jesus Christ in an active, desperate conflict, in order that he might bruise the heart of infinite Love. He seduced the people to bow to idols, and thus gained supremacy over earthly kingdoms. He considered that to be the god of this world was the next best thing to gaining possession of the throne of God in heaven. In a large measure he has been successful in his plans. When Jesus was on earth Satan led the people to reject the Son of God and to choose Barabbas, who in character represented Satan, the god of this world.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to dispute the usurpation of Satan in the kingdoms of the world. The conflict is not yet ended, and as we draw near the close of time, the battle waxes more intense. As the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ draws near, satanic agencies are moved from beneath. Not only will Satan appear as a human being, but he will personate Jesus Christ, and the world who has rejected the truth will receive him as the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He will exercise his power and work upon human imagination. He will corrupt both the minds and the bodies of people, and will work through the children of disobedience, fascinating and charming, as does a serpent. What a spectacle will the world be for heavenly intelligences! What a spectacle for God, the Creator of the world, to behold!
The form Satan assumed in Eden when leading our first parents to transgress was of a character to bewilder and confuse the mind. He will work in [just] as subtle a manner as we near the end of earth’s history. All his deceiving power will be brought to bear upon human subjects, to complete the work of deluding the human family. So deceptive will be his working that people will do as they did in the days of Christ, and when asked, “Whom shall I release unto you, Christ or Barabbas?” the almost universal cry will be “Barabbas, Barabbas!” And when the question is asked, “What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?” the cry again will be “Crucify Him!”—Manuscript 39, 1894 (The Review and Herald, April 14, 1896).
Christ Triumphant p. 274
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Kim and family. Her mother just died and now her son is accused of a crime we suspect he did not commit. Pray that the truth will come out and also that Kim and her family will find comfort in this trying time. Ron
—-Please pray for Richard who suffered many serious injuries when a car fell on him. Sandra
—-My friend can’t find his passport and he really needs it. Could you pray that it will turn up also pray that he will give his life to the Lord. Rosemary
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Dear Friends,
In the 1940’s, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, three boys were sitting on the porch with nothing to do. It was one of those lazy days of summer, when the temperature put a person in one of those “moods.” As they were sitting there bored and drowsy, Bob suggested that they shake off their feeling by doing something different.
Soon, the ten-year-old boy were walking along looking for something new and exciting to do. First one would suggest something and then the other, but they had done those things a hundred times before.
Before long, they found themselves by the gravel pit that was in their neighborhood. Now they had been warned many times to stay away from those mounds of gravel, but none of them wanted to be called a “sissy.” They climbed first one “hill” of gravel and then another. As they played and pushed and shoved each other, they felt like all the warnings their parents had given them were not needed. It seemed safe and was lots of fun.
Suddenly, the gravel shifted under their feet. Before they could escape, they were sucked down into and buried by the loose stones. Their cries for help as they were being covered were heard by one of the workmen who had not noticed the boys until then. Shouting at the other worker to get help, one worker ran over to where he had seen the boys disappear.
Frantically he started digging. He had to be careful not to become buried himself, but he could not think of that. He had to reach those boys before they smothered. As word got passed from one person to another, men closed their businesses and every available man rushed to the scene. (One of those men was my father who owned a gas station near there.) Soon many men arrived on the scene. But all those men digging their hardest could not save those boys. It was too late.
It is a sad story, but this story is repeated daily in the lives of many people we meet. They are not literally buried in a gravel pit, but they are being smothered by a life of sin. Some cry out for help. Some do not realize their danger and think theirs is a normal life. No matter what their feelings in the matter, they are all in the same condition with their feet anchored nowhere, sliding down to a Christless grave, being crushed by the weight of their sins.
Our Dear Saviour came to this world “to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10 He asks us to do as He has done. Just before His ascension forty days after His resurrection, Jesus gave His followers His final instructions. Those instructions are for us as well. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 He asks us to start witnessing to those closest to us before going to others far away.
We have the promise “that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” if we will share the Gospel with those being smothered by a life of sin. James 5:19,20 Paul admonishes us, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Gal 6:1 We are to “save [them] with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” Jude 23
May we ask our loving Saviour to open our eyes to notice the perishing ones around us, that we bring them to the foot of the Cross where they will find “grace to help in time of need.” Heb 4:16
Rose