The Head is Christ; who are the feet? 1 Corinthians 12:21

When you were a child, did God give you a special message? Not like a prophet (Jeremiah was called from the womb of his mother), but some special conviction that you were to be a servant of His in some way? God calls youth even today; young hearts are impressible by the Holy Spirit.

But if Satan knows you have been so called, he will try to harass you to get you to abandon your dreams. When Joseph as a child naively told his dreams to his older brothers and his father (Gen. 37), Satan listened and determined to make life as miserable as possible for Joseph, to break his allegiance to God.

The enemy inspired his older brothers to sell him into slavery in Egypt. On that same day as the teenager sat in chains on his way there, his soul thrilled with a resolve that he would dedicate his life to the God of his fathers. Plenty of tears, yes; but no bitter rebellion, no hateful prayer that God take His Holy Spirit away from him and never come back. Remembering his childhood dreams, he consecrated his entire life to God and by the grace of Christ chose to be cheerful and trustful--come what may.

Whoever you are, young or old, you are also chosen by God to be His special agent in some way. You are unworthy? Well, God's problem is that He can't find anybody who is worthy. There is somebody somewhere who needs a message of encouragement from Christ, but He has a problem that is detailed in 1 Corinthians 12:21: "The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you." The Head is Christ; who are the feet? We are. It's humbling to read that text: the Head needs us!

Joseph re-created the story of Job. When he refused to transgress the holy law of God by yielding to the allurement of adultery with Potiphar's wife (it WAS a powerful temptation, else he wouldn't have run for his life), Satan tortured his soul again by having him thrust into prison.

It's quite possible that you too have the privilege of honoring Christ in some severe trial. The Head needs you.

How can you be happy when no one's with you?

How can you be happy when no one's with you? You can be lonely in a crowd of people in the mall; in church; in school; in the office; even in your own family; and of course when you're the only person within your four walls. Is there some Good News for loneliness? Yes!

That's one of the problems that Jesus is well acquainted with. He says, "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me" (Isa. 63:3). "I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none" (Psalm 69:20). Not one disciple even was there to say a word of encouragement to Him in His dying hour, for "they all forsook Him and fled" (Mark 14:50).

You can be sure that such a One is near to you when you are lonely, for "yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me" (Psalm 23:4). Note: that's not talking only about your death bed: it says "the shadow of death," that is, the dark lonely experiences we have even as teenagers that are the "shadow" of what will come much, much later.

In your loneliness, you hunger for human companionship; that's OK, and natural. But that will ALWAYS disappoint you. Even the best husband or wife in the world cannot take the place of the "Friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24). That 23rd Psalm assures you of companionship that alone is totally satisfying.

Mystics talk about "practicing the presence of God," so they set a chair out for "Him" to sit in. You don't need even a whiff of idolatry! Even if Jesus were to come and sit down in your guest chair, He wouldn't be as close to you as He is in fact through your faith. A Friend closer even than someone who has his/her arms around you, for the promise is that "He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:17).

Check it out; get on your knees and talk to Him; you'll know how close He is, because He will for certain respond to you, and always with some kind of message of hope. But don't hoard Him to yourself; somehow, share Him with someone else who is lonely.

The wings of angels shall waft thee far away, to the mount of peace, and joy, and blessedness

"Whom He justified, them He also glorified."-Romans 8:30

Here is a precious truth for thee, believer. Thou mayest be poor, or in suffering, or unknown, but for thine encouragement take a review of thy "calling" and the consequences that flow from it, and especially that blessed result here spoken of. As surely as thou art God's child today, so surely shall all thy trials soon be at an end, and thou shalt be rich to all the intents of bliss. Wait awhile, and that weary head shall wear the crown of glory, and that hand of labour shall grasp the palm-branch of victory. Lament not thy troubles, but rather rejoice that ere long thou wilt be where "there shall be neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." The chariots of fire are at thy door, and a moment will suffice to bear thee to the glorified. The everlasting song is almost on thy lip. The portals of heaven stand open for thee. Think not that thou canst fail of entering into rest. If He hath called thee, nothing can divide thee from His love. Distress cannot sever the bond; the fire of persecution cannot burn the link; the hammer of hell cannot break the chain. Thou art secure; that voice which called thee at first, shall call thee yet again from earth to heaven, from death's dark gloom to immortality's unuttered splendours. Rest assured, the heart of Him who has justified thee beats with infinite love towards thee. Thou shalt soon be with the glorified, where thy portion is; thou art only waiting here to be made meet for the inheritance, and that done, the wings of angels shall waft thee far away, to the mount of peace, and joy, and blessedness, where,

"Far from a world of grief and sin,

With God eternally shut in,"

thou shalt rest for ever and ever.

The true gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thoroughly Good News this dark world has.

The true gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thoroughly Good News this dark world has. Every human being is by nature a descendant of the fallen head of the human race--Adam; the Bible calls that fallen nature "the flesh." The "works" or "fruit" of the flesh is an endless catalog of evil that always ends in misery.

But Paul dares to tell us in Galatians that if we have chosen to give ourselves to Christ and to "walk with the [Holy] Spirit," He will hold us by the hand so we won't stumble into those allurements of sin, even though our sinful nature would push us into it. "Ye cannot do the [evil] things that ye would" (5:16-18).

BUT ... Proverbs gives you the same Good News that Galatians does ("wisdom" is Christ, cf. 1 Cor. 1:24): "Wisdom ... will provide you with life--a pleasant and happy life. You can go safely on your way and never even stumble. ... The Lord will keep you safe [from sin!]. He will not let you fall into a trap" (3:21-26). "Your insight and understanding will protect you and prevent you from doing the wrong thing" (2:11, 12, GNB). Same as Paul's Good News!

When life is over, you will take not an iota of credit to yourself. You will gladly confess, "By grace [I] have been saved through faith, and that not of [myself]. IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD" (Eph. 2:8, 9). Isaiah reminds us, "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord" (54:17).

Believe that today, and your heart will overflow with gratitude. You'll have heaven on earth.

The virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, preached a sermon once.It was very short.

The virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, preached a sermon once. It was very short. But it was to the point, and we need to listen to it often.

It was at the wedding in Cana, when the party ran out of wine and the host did not know what to do. Mary saw the difficulty, and immediately thought of Jesus. One wonders why she would think of Him--what did she think He could do?

The story is in John 2:1-11. It seems evident that she had learned to rely on Him as He was growing up in the home as being someone always willing and able to do something in every emergency to help the situation. Perhaps she thought that He could send some of His young disciples off to buy some wine. She apparently felt some responsibility because the wedding concerned relatives. Her own reputation for hospitality may have been involved. So she told Jesus, "They have no wine!" Jesus must have given her to understand, "Don't worry; I'll take care of the problem."

Then, turning to the perplexed servants, she preached her little sermon, "Whatsoever He says to you, do it!" Fortunately, they did just that, obeyed His instructions, and took to the "governor of the feast" the superb wine that Jesus had made by turning the water into wine.

Now, how does this little sermon apply to us? Does Jesus go to the trouble of telling each one of us specific things to "do"? Does He bother that much? Yes. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus; He is the Vicar of Christ, His personal Representative here on earth. In John 16:7-11 Jesus describes how the Holy Spirit comes to each of us doing three things: (1) He convicts us of sin, so that He may heal us of it; (2) He convicts us of righteousness--that is, He convicts us of the "right" thing to do at all times, and (3) He convicts us of "judgment," that is, that Satan, the prince of this world, is cast out, defeated. Today, Jesus will "say" something to you, convict you of some duty. "Do it!"

Now, sin of all sorts must be treated by Christians in the same manner.

And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers. (Deuteronomy 13:17)

Israel must conquer idolatrous cities and destroy all the spoil, regarding all that had been polluted by idolatry as an accursed thing to be burned with fire. Now, sin of all sorts must be treated by Christians in the same manner. We must not allow a single evil habit to remain. It is now war to the knife with sins of all sorts and sizes, whether of the body, the mind, or the spirit. We do not look upon this giving up of evil as deserving mercy, but we regard it as a fruit of the grace of God, which we would on no account miss.

When God causes us to have no mercy on our sins, then He has great mercy on us. When we are angry with evil, God is no more angry with us. When we multiply our efforts against iniquity, the Lord multiplies our blessings. The way of peace, of growth, of safety, of joy in Christ Jesus will be found by following out these words: "There shall nought of the cursed thing cleave to thine hand." Lord, purify me this day. Compassion, prosperity, increase, and joy will surely be given to those who put away sin with solemn resolution.

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise;

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. (Micah 7:8)

This may express the feelings of a man or woman downtrodden and oppressed. Our enemy may put out our light for a season. There is sure hope for us in the Lord; and if we are trusting in Him and holding fast our integrity, our season of downcasting and darkness will soon be over. The insults of the foe are only for a moment. The Lord will soon turn their laughter into lamentation and our sighing into singing.

What if the great enemy of souls should for a while triumph over us, as he has triumphed over better men than we are; yet let us take heart, for we shall overcome him before long. We shall rise from our fall, for our God has not fallen, and He will lift us up. We shall not abide in darkness, although for the moment we sit in it; for our Lord is the fountain of light, and He will soon bring us a joyful day. Let us not despair or even doubt. One turn of the wheel, and the lowest will be at the top. Woe unto those who laugh now, for they shall mourn and weep when their boasting is turned into everlasting contempt. But blessed are all holy mourners, for they shall be divinely comforted.

Are you longing for some solid truth?

Are you longing for some solid truth, firm as a rock, that you can trust, that's also good news? Here it is in Titus 2:11-14:

It's truth taught by the "grace of God that brings salvation to all men" (vs. 11). It's not a fear motivation. The "grace" is that "much more abounding" kind that's greater than all our sin (Rom. 5:20). And it's given, not merely offered, to "all men." It overwhelms you when you think about it. "Every man" does one of two things: he either receives it or he rejects it.

That grace (not fear!) teaches us to "say No!" to every temptation to sin that Satan can fling at us (Titus 2:11, NIV). That's where our problems are--"worldly lusts." We don't naturally know how to do it, but that "grace" teaches us to "live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" right where we are. The worst sinner learns under that tutelage. It's being in school with Christ as the Teacher. (That's a great privilege!)

We cherish "the blessed hope" of seeing Him come again--we believe His literal second coming is that soon! Yes, we do! (vs. 13).

That otherwise impossibility is accomplished by comprehending how He "gave Himself for us" (vs. 14). It's looking, beholding, grasping, absorbing, the four grand dimensions of a love (agape) that passes knowledge (Eph. 3:16-19). When you gaze at His cross, the lethal bites of the "serpent" are healed (John 3:14, 15). Yes!

Why did He "give Himself for us"? To save us "in sin"? No, to save us from all of it (vs. 14 again). You see yourself as the believing thief crucified with Him--yes! Self dies with Him. You share His cross, by living faith.

What He's doing is to "purify to Himself" 144,000 people in a time when the Enemy says it's impossible to happen (vs. 14 again; see also Rev. 7:1-4; 14:1-5). Whether that's a literal or symbolic number is not the point. What you must believe is that the Savior loves you so much that He invites you to be among them, to "overcome even as [He] overcame" (Rev. 3:21). He wouldn't invite you if it were not possible.

Nothing in the past, the present, or the future can cause Jehovah to be unkind to me.

For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. (Isaiah 54:10)

One of the most delightful qualities of divine love is its abiding character. The pillars of the earth may be moved out of their places, but the kindness and the covenant of our merciful Jehovah never depart from His people. How happy my soul feels in a firm belief of this inspired declaration! The year is almost over, and the years of my life are growing few, but time does not change my Lord. New lamps are taking the place of the old; perpetual change is on all things, but our Lord is the same. Force overturns the hills, but no conceivable power can affect the eternal God. Nothing in the past, the present, or the future can cause Jehovah to be unkind to me.

My soul, rest in the eternal kindness of the Lord, who treats thee as one near of kin. Remember also the everlasting covenant. God is ever mindful of it--see that thou art mindful of it too. In Christ Jesus the glorious God has pledged Himself to thee to be thy God and to hold thee as one of His people. Kindness and covenant-dwell on these words as sure and lasting things which eternity itself shall not take from thee.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman (Genesis 3:15)

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

This is the first promise to fallen man. It contains the whole gospel and the essence of the covenant of grace. It has been in great measure fulfilled. The seed of the woman, even our Lord Jesus, was bruised in His heel, and a terrible bruising it was. How terrible will be the final bruising of the serpent's head! This was virtually done when Jesus took away sin, vanquished death, and broke the power of Satan; but it awaits a still fuller accomplishment at our Lord's second advent and in the Day of Judgment. To us the promise stands as a prophecy that we shall be afflicted by the powers of evil in our lower nature, and thus bruised in our heel; but we shall triumph in Christ, who sets His foot on the old serpent's head. Throughout this year we may have to learn the first part of this promise by experience, through the temptations of the devil and the unkindness of the ungodly, who are his seed. They may so bruise us that we may limp with our sore heel; but let us grasp the second part of the text, and we shall not be dismayed. By faith let us rejoice that we shall still reign in Christ Jesus, the woman's seed.

In thee the fatherless findeth mercy. (Hosea 14:3)

In thee the fatherless findeth mercy. (Hosea 14:3)

This is an excellent reason for casting away all other confidences and relying upon the Lord alone. When a child is left without its natural protector, our God steps in and becomes his guardian: so also when a man has lost every object of dependence, he may cast himself upon the living God and find in Him all that he needs. Orphans are cast upon the fatherhood of God, and He provides for them. The writer of these pages knows what it is to hang on the bare arm of God, and he bears his willing witness that no trust is so well warranted by facts, or so sure to be rewarded by results, as trust in the invisible but ever-living God.

Some children who have fathers are not much the better off because of them, but the fatherless with God are rich. Better have God and no other friend than all the patrons on the earth and no God. To be bereaved of the creature is painful, but so long as the Lord remains the fountain of mercy to us, we are not truly orphaned. Let fatherless children plead the gracious word for this morning, and let all who have been bereaved of visible support do the same, Lord, let me find mercy in Thee! The more needy and helpless I am, the more confidently do I appeal to Thy loving heart.

Is it hard work to be "born again"?

Is it hard work to be "born again"? We know that we need to be changed from the inside out. Years of being what we are have made us set in our ways, we feel. Our problems are a part of us, through and through, whether it's lust, appetite, jealousy, or whatever vice has a hold on us. How can we become really different than what we just are?

We can change the color of our hair but how can we change the color of our eyes? If we were born to be short how can we become tall? For a selfish person to become unselfish seems as impossible. And most poignantly, for a lustful, sexually impure person (a rapist? an abuser?) to become pure in heart seems totally impossible--so say our courts of law.

And now here comes Jesus telling us that "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). To many people it sounds like a death-knell. "I am what I am, and there's no way I can be different! If only blue-eyed people can enter heaven, I'm sunk for I have brown eyes!"

Sit down and read the whole of John 3. Nicodemus asked precisely the same questions. You'll be surprised how much better is Jesus' Good News of the new birth than what we have thought it is:

(1) Because of what Jesus accomplished on His cross, the Holy Spirit has become everyone's new "parents." When He impregnated the Virgin Mary to bring Jesus to birth, He impregnated everyone with a divine seed of a new life to be formed within. The new birth is not you "born-ing" yourself anew (excuse me; we need a new verb); "the wind bloweth where it listeth," says Jesus; "so is everyone that is born of the [Holy] Spirit." He is constantly casting seeds into human hearts, for Christ is the "Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (1:9). The "seed" is the Light of Good News in Christ.

(2) Now, don't practice abortion on the new life that the Holy Spirit is constantly begetting within you. Stop resisting Him. If you choose darkness, you set yourself up for judgment.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:18)

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:18)

He left us, and yet we are not left orphans. He is our comfort, and He is gone; but we are not comfortless. Our comfort is that He will come to us, and this is consolation enough to sustain us through His prolonged absence. Jesus is already on His way: He says, "I come quickly": He rides posthaste toward us. He says, "I will come": and none can prevent His coming, or put it back for a quarter of an hour. He specially says, "I will come to yw"; and so He will. His coming is specially to and for His own people. This is meant to be their present comfort while they mourn that the Bridegroom doth not yet appear.

When we lose the joyful sense of His presence we mourn, but we may not sorrow as if there were no hope. Our Lord in a little wrath has hid Himself from us for a moment, but He will return in full favor. He leaves us in a sense, but only in a sense. When He withdraws, He leaves a pledge behind that He will return. O Lord, come quickly! There is no life in this earthly existence if Thou be gone. We sigh for the return of Thy sweet smile. When wilt Thou come unto us? We are sure Thou wilt appear; but be Thou like a roe, or a young hart. Make no tarrying, O our God!

Our Lord Jesus has not died in vain. He died as our substitute, because death was the penalty of our sins.

When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. (Isaiah 53:10)

Our Lord Jesus has not died in vain. His death was sacrificial: He died as our substitute, because death was the penalty of our sins. Because His substitution was accepted of God, He has saved those for whom He made His soul a sacrifice. By death He became like the corn of wheat which bringeth forth much fruit. There must be a succession of children unto Jesus; He is "the Father of the everlasting age." He shall say, "Behold, I and the children whom Thou hast given me."

A man is honored in his sons, and Jesus hath His quiver full of these arrows of the mighty. A man is represented in his children, and so is the Christ in Christians. In his seed a man's life seems to be prolonged and extended; and so is the life of Jesus continued in believers.

Jesus lives, for He sees His seed. He fixes His eye on us, He delights in us, He recognizes us as the fruit of His soul travail. Let us be glad that our Lord does not fail to enjoy the result of His dread sacrifice, and that He will never cease to feast His eyes upon the harvest of His death. Those eyes which once wept for us are now viewing us with pleasure. Yes, He looks upon those who are looking unto Him. Our eyes meet! What a joy is this!

I am quite sure that God is with me if Jesus is my sole and only Savior.

The Lord will be with you. (2 Chronicles 20:17)

This was a great mercy for Jehoshaphat, for a great multitude had come out against him; and it will be a great mercy for me, for I have great need, and I have no might or wisdom. If the Lord be with me, it matters little who may desert me. If the Lord be with me, I shall conquer in the battle of life, and the greater my trials the more glorious will be my victory. How can I be sure that the Lord is with me?

For certain He is with me if I am with Him. If I trust in His faithfulness, believe His words, and obey His commands, He is assuredly with me. If I am on Satan's side, God is against me and cannot be otherwise; but if I live to honor God, I may be sure that He will honor me.

I am quite sure that God is with me if Jesus is my sole and only Savior. If I have placed my soul in the hands of God's only-begotten Son, then I may be sure that the Father will put forth all His power to preserve me, that His Son may not be dishonored.

Oh, for faith to take hold upon the short but sweet text for today! O Lord, fulfill this word to Thy servant! Be with me in the house, in the street, in the field, in the shop, in company, and alone. Be Thou also with all Thy people.

What does it mean in these last days to become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?

What does it mean in these last days to become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?

(1) You believe God is, and that He rewards your devotion and hears your prayers; that He is your heavenly Father, that He loves you so much He gave His dearest treasure to become your Savior--His only Son; and that He stays with you forever through the on-going gift of the Holy Spirit.

(2) You have begun an eternity-filled and growing heart-appreciation of the love that led Jesus Christ to die your second death on His cross; that love has begun to "constrain" you to live "henceforth" unto Him and not for "self.

(3) Your baptism is a sign to the world that you turn away from its ways and sinful pleasures; a declaration to the world that you are now "crucified with Christ" and you are risen with Him to a new life.

(4) You believe that the One who died for you was resurrected and now lives forever as your personal High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, your Attorney on your side, defending you from the attacks of Satan.

(5) You have begun to love the Bible as God's personal word to you; and you ask Him to deepen that love and confidence from now on forever.

(6) You have begun to love God's law, His ten commandments as ten promises of victory over temptation Satan may bring against you; you love obedience to the fourth, keeping holy His blessed seventh-day Sabbath as a precious gift from Him.

(7) The "blessed hope" you cherish is the imminent personal, literal, visible second coming of Jesus and you want to help others also to get ready.

(8) You thank the Lord for the "gifts" He has given to His "body" on earth, the church--one of which is the living gift of prophecy, evidence of His on-going love.

(9) Since His church is His "body" on earth, you want to remain forever one of its loyal members, supporting it with tithes and offerings returned to the Lord.

(10) You believe that your physical body is the "temple" the Holy Spirit dwells in; you choose to keep it in health and purity, for it was purchased by the sacrifice of Christ.

(11) You seek fellowship in that "church" that Revelation singles out as "the remnant" which "keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

(12) You are happy forever "in Christ" living under His new covenant of grace.

Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. (Matthew 20:7)

Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. (Matthew 20:7)

Yes, there is work in Christ's vineyard for old bodies. It is the eleventh hour, and yet He will let us work. What grace is this! Surely every old man ought to jump at this invitation! After men are advanced in years nobody wants them as servants; they go from shop to shop, and employers look at their gray hairs and shake their heads. But Jesus will engage old people and give them good wages, too! This is mercy indeed. Lord, help the aged to enlist in Thy service without an hour's delay.

But will the Lord pay wages to worn-out old men? Do not doubt it. He says He will give you what is right if you will work in His field. He will surely give you grace here and glory hereafter. He will grant present comfort and future rest; strength equal to your day and a vision of glory when the night of death comes on. All these the Lord Jesus will as freely give to the aged convert as to one who enters His service in his youth.

Let me tell this to some unsaved old man or old woman and pray the Lord to bless it for Jesus' sake. Where can I find such persons? I will be on the lookout for them and kindly tell them the news.

If you're river rafting in violently turbulent water, everything depends on your hanging on.

If you're river rafting in violently turbulent water, everything depends on your hanging on. You need a constant "relationship" with the boat.

We're in a turbulent great controversy with Satan. Does our salvation depend on our maintaining a "relationship" with Jesus? Many are the sincere people who get discouraged. They have to make a living; work presses hard on them. They are tired at day's end; morning comes too soon--back to the turbulence of daily life in a godless world. After some days or weeks (or months!) they realize, "I have neglected to maintain that 'relationship!'" Not enough time spent in prayer and Bible study! The precious "relationship" seems broken.

If you are one of those ("alive" rather than among the living dead) don't give up in despair. You need some Good News. The Savior takes the initiative to maintain that relationship or fellowship with you! It was never His idea to get you started or involved in a works program; His role is that of Good Shepherd seeking us, rather than vice versa. Bible study and prayer are necessary. But if you can appreciate the love of that Good Shepherd; if you can "comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and and depth, and height; and to know the love [agape] of Christ which passeth knowledge" (Eph. 3: 18, 19), you see Him as the One who seeks to maintain that fellowship with you, as the Father did with Jesus (see Isa. 50:4; don't be "rebellious," vs. 5). "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).

If you are too busy to eat breakfast, do you despair and say, "I'm no good! I'll never eat again!"? I think hunger will drive you to eat the first chance you get. So does the Savior's love drive you to respond to His continual seeking. His love, not craven fear, will motivate you to thank Him for not letting go of you (Isa. 41:10, 13). Count yourself among these: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled."

Forgiveness is great, but there is another dimension involved: the blotting out of sins.

Nothing in the vast universe is so joyous to receive than God's forgiveness. King David let himself be lured into horrible sin--adultery and murder. For a year or more he was able to repress the painful guilt, stomp on it, and keep it covered up. And he bluffed and smiled his way through his royal appointments of state; but when the guilt finally caught up with him when he was alone, his devastation of soul was horrendous. Not even a new Lexus or yacht could have made him happy.

When God's forgiveness came, he wrote: "Happy are those whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned. Happy is the man ... who is free from all deceit. ... I was worn out from crying all day long. Day and night You punished me, Lord; my strength was completely drained, as moisture is dried up by the summer heat" (Psalm 32:1-4, GNB).

Forgiveness is great, but there is another dimension involved: the blotting out of sins. It is simultaneous with God's giving (and the church's receiving) the latter rain, which prepares them for the final issues of earth's history: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19). When He forgives us He takes the sin away and dumps it in the depths of the ocean where no one can retrieve it--not even Himself. It's His objective act for us. But WE can dig it up again like Judas Iscariot did (he had been baptized and ordained and even had worked miracles). We can "crucify Christ afresh" (Heb. 6:6).

The "blotting out of sins" is plural, subjective; it concerns the sanctuary itself. It's the meaning of Daniel 8:14, "Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." The forgiveness of our sins sets us free; the blotting out of sins sets God free. The accumulated burden of the sins of God's people is guilt He has taken upon Himself in the great controversy with Satan. It's for us a deep work of heart-cleansing that is done on the Day of Atonement. When sin is totally eradicated from the hearts of His people, the gospel is demonstrated to be at last effective, "the power of God unto salvation." Christ's sacrifice is fully rewarded. God is relieved of the burden He has carried all this long while.

When the Holy Spirit outpouring of the Latter Rain comes, will it sweep like a tidal wave throughout the church?

When the Holy Spirit outpouring of the Latter Rain comes, will it sweep like a tidal wave throughout the church? Let history speak and tell us something.

An example is the birth of Jesus. The coming of Jesus of Nazareth did not create a "tidal wave" for the scribes and Pharisees in Jerusalem. The great Messiah, the "Desire of all nations," anticipated throughout the world, came in that humble birth of a Baby in a cowshed.

A handful of "wise men from the East" responded to the call of the Holy Spirit; in Jerusalem here was Anna, a very old woman, who came to see Him (Luke 2:36), and there was old Simeon who was ecstatic with joy at His birth (vss. 25ff.); but beyond them, no one gets a mention in the Bible.

Apparently the lesson is clear: when the Latter Rain comes, no one will get a morsel of bread except the hungry ones who are famished for it, and no one will get a drink of water except the desperately thirsty ones. The Latter Rain may be falling in copious showers of grace all around us and we slip through the grand experience untouched, only to embrace a counterfeit cleverly done up by the "father of lies." And then we would collide with the "mark of the beast" test--unprepared.

Some fearing and trembling is appropriate now.

"The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity" is wide awake and is responding to prayers that are arising here and there throughout the world. He "dwells in the high and holy place" but "also [only] with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isa. 57:15). He pays special attention to the prayers of him who "trembles at My word" (66:2).

All around the world He is doing that today. Things are happening, beneath the surface.

When sin is pardoned, our greatest sorrow is ended

The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

When sin is pardoned, our greatest sorrow is ended, and our truest pleasure begins. Such is the joy which the Lord bestows upon His reconciled ones, that it overflows and fills all nature with delight. The material world has latent music in it, and a renewed heart knows how to bring it out and make it vocal. Creation is the organ, and a gracious man finds out its keys, lays his hand thereon, and wakes the whole system of the universe to the harmony of praise. Mountains and hills, and other great objects, are, as it were, the bass of the chorus; while the trees of the wood, and all things that have life, take up the air of the melodious song.

When God's Word is made to prosper among us and souls are saved, then everything seems full of song. When we hear the confessions of young believers and the testimonies of well-instructed saints, we are made so happy that we must praise the Lord, and then it seems as if rocks and hills and woods and fields echo our joy-notes and turn the world into an orchestra. Lord, on this happy May Day, lead me out into thy tuneful world as rich in praise as a lark in full song.

Suppose you lose someone in death, that gave no evidence of believing in the Savior; what does the Bible teach you to believe?

Suppose you lose someone in death, someone near and dear to you that you know up to the last breath gave no evidence of believing in the Savior; what does the Bible teach you to believe?

The apostle John has left the door open to let in a ray of hope. First, he says what he has to say, "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). That appears to be a tone of finality. The word "life" has to mean eternal life; this present temporal life has been the gift of the much more abounding grace of Christ who saved the world in a legal sense and has made it possible for the Father to send His rain and sunshine on both the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45).

But that's not eternal salvation, necessarily. We know that Christ came to give Himself for us all, that every loaf of bread is stamped with His cross that unbelievers eat their daily food as the gift of His grace, although they don't know they are eternally and infinitely in debt to Him for all they have ever had. They have eaten from His hand all their life (Psalm 145:15, 16) but have never understood, that is, "known" it, or "believed" it (John distinguishes between the two verbs, 1 John 4:16).

But right here is where we must step carefully--we cannot be sure which was the case with our loved one. Only the Lord can "read" the deep recesses of that human heart. The door of encouragement that John leaves open is in 1 John 5:14-16: "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." His will is this: "God our Savior ... desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:3, 4). "And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him"--that is, by faith to believe what we shall see in the resurrection morning; the Lord will wipe all tears from our eyes (Rev. 21:4). "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and he will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death."

As your loved one's Judge, the Lord knows the reason why he has been as he has been (you don't know!); the Savior has loved that person more than you have;your prayers may have enabled Him to do something He could not have done if you had not prayed. Cherish what hope the Holy Spirit gives you; your loved one is in His hands. And they are hands of love.