It is nobler to forgive and let the offense pass.

Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee. (Proverbs 20:22)

Be not in haste. Let anger cool down. Say nothing and do nothing to avenge yourself. You will be sure to act unwisely if you take up the cudgels and fight your own battles; and, certainly, you will not show the spirit of the Lord Jesus. It is nobler to forgive and let the offense pass. To let an injury rankle in your bosom and to meditate revenge is to keep old wounds open and to make new ones. Better forget and forgive.

Peradventure, you say that you must do something or be a great loser; then do what this morning's promise advises: "Wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee." This advice will not cost you money but is worth far more. Be calm and quiet. Wait upon the Lord; tell Him your grievance; spread your petition before the Lord, and this of itself will be an ease to your burdened mind. Besides, there is the promise "He shall save thee." God will find a way of deliverance for you. How He will do it neither you nor I can guess, but do it He will. If the Lord saves you, this will be a deal better than getting into petty quarrels and covering yourself with filth by wrestling with the unclean. Be no more angry. Leave your suit with the Judge of all

HILARY CLINTON - MESSAGE TO SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST - SDA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2CeiHXZFHE&feature=share

The story of Jesus is the greatest story ever told.

The story of Jesus is the greatest story ever told. It is moving: that is, the story itself will propel you toward salvation of your soul if you will simply let it be told, let it speak, and listen to it.

When Jesus was to be born, there was no room for Mary in the inn; and that tells us that there is no room for Jesus ever in this dark world of sin. We are all by nature the "innkeeper." Our hearts are by nature like the heart of the innkeeper in the story; we must repent even at the very beginning of our contact with Jesus.

Romans 8:7 says our natural human hearts everywhere are "enmity against God"; no one on earth by nature has room for Jesus--He is the Unwelcome One everywhere.

Not one of us fallen humans has ever sought after Jesus; "there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, .. no, not one" (Rom. 3:10-12). But we are lost apart from Him for only He is the Source of life ("In Him was life; and the life was the [only] light of men," John 1:4). Therefore Jesus as the Son of God has taken the initiative to seek after us. That is because He alone is love [agape]; for agape is the love that does not wait for us to seek it (we would never seek Him!) but He humbles Himself to be the Seeker of our souls.

Jesus represents Himself as standing at the door of our hearts, knocking; our job is to listen to His knocking: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock," He says (Rev. 3:20). If you check the margin of the old King James Version Bibles, you will see that it directs you to the Song of Solomon 5:2, for that is where the "knocking" is quoted from; the story of Jesus is a love story of disappointed, rejected love. Its import cannot be grasped apart from the pain that the One who "knocks" must feel when being thrust outside. Such love as His is a quiet love--the Suitor cannot force His way in; but in the end, the Suitor with His unrequited love will win in the drama; long despised and rejected, He will at last become Judge because "God is agape" (1 John 4:8), and the Judge of the vast Universe must do what is right.

His love speaks now with a quiet voice; but in Revelation 20:11-14 that love will speak like thunder and lightning to the rejecters of His much more abounding grace: "I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; ... and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books."

Those who have spent their lives rejecting the Lord's much more abounding grace will want to jump into the lake of fire; since "God is love" He will give each man what he really wants.

The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. (Proverbs 20:7)

The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. (Proverbs 20:7)

Anxiety about our family is natural, but we shall be wise if we turn it into care about our own character. If we walk before the Lord in integrity, we shall do more to bless our descendants than if we bequeathed them large estates. A father's holy life is a rich legacy for his sons.

The upright man leaves his heirs his example, and this in itself will be a mine of true wealth, How many men may trace their success in life to the example of their parents!

He leaves them also his repute. Men think better of us as the sons of a man who could be trusted, the successors of a tradesman of excellent repute. Oh, that all young men were anxious to keep up the family name!

Above all, he leaves his children his prayers and the blessing of a prayer-hearing God, and these make our offspring to be favored among the sons of men. God will save them even after we are dead. Oh, that they might be saved at once!

Our integrity may be God's means of saving our sons and daughters. If they see the truth of our religion proved by our lives, it may be that they will believe in Jesus for themselves. Lord, fulfill this word to my household!

Bring ye all of the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house (Malachi 3:10)

Bring ye all of the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10)

Many read and plead this promise without noticing the condition upon which the blessing is promised. We cannot expect heaven to be opened or blessing poured out unless we pay our dues unto the Lord our God and to His cause. There would be no lack of funds for holy purposes if all professing Christians paid their fair share.

Many are poor because they rob God. Many churches, also, miss the visitation of the Spirit because they starve their ministries. If there is no temporal meat for God's servants, we need not wonder if their ministry has seen little food in it for our souls. When missions pine for means and the work of the Lord is hindered by an empty treasury, how can we look for a large amount of soul-prosperity?

Come, come! What have I given of late? Have I been mean to my God? Have I stinted my Savior? This will never do. Let me give my Lord Jesus His tithe by helping the poor and aiding His work, and then I shall prove His power to bless me on a large scale.

"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).

John the Baptist had the great honor of introducing the Messiah to the Jewish nation: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" he cried (John 1:29). The name "Lamb of God" means that Jesus must die for the world, in place of humanity dying. That death has to be the second death, the eternal one.

That's what Jesus meant when He said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He would die" (John 12:32, 33). He is the Son of God, the Creator, the Redeemer; all of humanity will gather at His cross, "drawn" irresistibly to the amazing sight of the world's Creator enduring the curse of God in Himself, dying as One "despised and rejected of men," suffering the unspeakable horrors of hell itself.

It's a spectacle that even the angels of heaven and the inhabitants of the vast universe are also "drawn" to watch with wonder, for Christ is not only "the Savior of the world," He is also the Savior of the throne, the government, of God. The fate of the universe trembled in the balance as Jesus was dying on that cross. Let Him utter one angry, impatient word, and all is lost. Why was the event so vastly important?

Everything in the universe that makes life possible, the cohesion of atoms, the basic principle of life itself, was in jeopardy. God had an Enemy who had been the highest angel, the highest created being, who had rebelled against His government and its fundamental principle ofagape. Sin was a challenge to the very foundation of God's existence and thus to the existence of His realm. Now the Son of God was to meet that Enemy on the battlefield and wrestle hand to hand. He was to "die to sin" (Rom. 6:10), to be exposed naked to the gaze of the world and of the universe (the Romans always crucified their victims naked). Now the mysterious foundation pillars of God's government must be exposed. Jesus doesn't want to die the second death any more than you do; going to eternal hell was no more fun for Him than for anyone. "God with us" is now both human and divine, finite and infinite both. As one of His seven steps of condescension (Phil. 2:5-8), He must "empty Himself."

He must not die alone, unseen, uncomprehended. If He must "taste death [the second] for every man" (Heb. 2:9), "every man" must see Him do it--the grandest, most terrible sight possible for any intelligent being to "behold." And there we have the next event on the world's agenda--"Christ and Him crucified" proclaimed, which is the message of Revelation 18 that must and will "lighten the earth with glory."

O Lord, raise me, for Thy mercy's sake!

The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down. (Psalm l46:8)

Am I bowed down? Then let me urge this word of grace before the Lord. It is His way, His custom, His promise, His delight, to raise up them that are bowed down. Is it a sense of sin and a consequent depression of spirit which distresses me? Then the work of Jesus is, in this case, made and provided to raise me up into rest. O Lord, raise me, for Thy mercy's sake!

Is it a sad bereavement or a great fall in circumstances? Here again the Comforter has undertaken to console. What a mercy for us that one Person of the sacred Trinity should become the Comforter! This work will be well done since such a glorious One has made it His peculiar care.

Some are so bowed down that only Jesus can loose them from their infirmity, but He can, and He will, do it. He can raise us up to health, to hope, to happiness. He has often done so under former trials, and He is the same Savior and will repeat His deeds of loving kindness. We who are today bowed down and sorrowful shalt yet be set on high, and those who now mock at us shall be greatly ashamed. What an honor to be raised up by the Lord! It is worthwhile to be bowed down that we may experience His upraising power.

Just before the second coming of Christ, God will send a full-orbed gospel message that will "lighten the earth with glory"

Solomon, the great king of Israel who built the world's most magnificent building, the Jerusalem temple, was reputed to be the wisest man in the world. Under his royal administration, the kingdom of Israel reached the apex of its glory; it came near to fulfilling the promise that God made to Israel's "father" Abraham, that "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3).

Just before the second coming of Christ, God will send a full-orbed gospel message that will "lighten the earth with glory" and everyone on earth whose heart begins to respond to God's love will "come out of Babylon" and be a part of modern "Israel" (Rev. 18:1-4). Solomon's glorious reign prefigured that final victory for God's gospel. From that Solomonic dizzying height of national prestige, Israel would have a thousand years to traverse in history before they hit their nadir in shameful apostasy--so low that they murdered their Messiah. Israel's story is the tragic saga of all time.

Solomon himself encapsulated it in his own life; he fell to an abysmal low and nearly brought the kingdom to disaster before he died. His last royal successor, Zedekiah, died in painful, blinded humiliation as a captive in jail in Babylon--the last sight he ever saw with his eyes being the murder of his sons (Jer. 52:10). Never has the world known such a dynasty tragedy--from such grandeur to such ignominy. Read Jeremiah 52 and Matthew 27!

What went wrong?

The seeds of failure began anciently, just as Israel was coming out of Egypt: in a national vote they rejected God's new covenant and instituted the old covenant (Ex. 19:1-8). From then on, it was old covenant all the way to Calvary. Solomon's prayer of dedication at the temple (1 Kings 8) was a litany, begging God to "hear from heaven and forgive" the continual, repeated apostasy of Israel. Failure was expected because it was built-in!

Must the same pattern be repeated by the church in these last days? Yes, unless the new covenant can be permitted to replace the old (see Gal. 4:24). But God's Good News promise is that He will give to His church the repentance of the ages, which will restore the new covenant (Zech. 12:10-13:1; Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8). In this issue, God's honor is at stake!

I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Joshua 1:5)

I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Joshua 1:5)

This word to Joshua is often quoted; it is the basis of that New Testament word "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Beloved, a life of warfare is before us, but the Lord of Hosts is with us. Are we called to lead a great but fickle people? This promise guarantees us all the wisdom and prudence that we shall need. Have we to contend with cunning and powerful enemies? Here is strength and valor, prowess and victory. Have we a vast heritage to win? By this sign we shall achieve our purpose; the Lord Himself is with us.

It would be woe to us indeed if Jehovah could fail us; but, as this can never be, the winds of disquietude are laid to sleep in the caverns of divine faithfulness. On no one occasion will the Lord desert us. Happen what may, He will be at our side. Friends drop from us, their help is but an April shower; but God is faithful, Jesus is the same forever, and the Holy Spirit abideth in us.

Come, my heart, be calm and hopeful today. Clouds may gather, but the Lord can blow them away. Since God will not fail me, my faith shall not fail; and as He will not forsake me, neither will I forsake Him. Oh, for a restful faith!

I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Joshua 1:5)

I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Joshua 1:5)

This word to Joshua is often quoted; it is the basis of that New Testament word "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Beloved, a life of warfare is before us, but the Lord of Hosts is with us. Are we called to lead a great but fickle people? This promise guarantees us all the wisdom and prudence that we shall need. Have we to contend with cunning and powerful enemies? Here is strength and valor, prowess and victory. Have we a vast heritage to win? By this sign we shall achieve our purpose; the Lord Himself is with us.

It would be woe to us indeed if Jehovah could fail us; but, as this can never be, the winds of disquietude are laid to sleep in the caverns of divine faithfulness. On no one occasion will the Lord desert us. Happen what may, He will be at our side. Friends drop from us, their help is but an April shower; but God is faithful, Jesus is the same forever, and the Holy Spirit abideth in us.

Come, my heart, be calm and hopeful today. Clouds may gather, but the Lord can blow them away. Since God will not fail me, my faith shall not fail; and as He will not forsake me, neither will I forsake Him. Oh, for a restful faith!

Yes, the end IS near,

Does the Bible say anything relevant beyond what we have always said for 150 years, "The end is near!"?

Yes, the end IS near, "the nations ARE angry" (Rev. 11:18). Careful Bible students have quoted that text ever since the crisis in Europe in 1848. Like King Zedekiah asked of Jeremiah, "Is there any word from the Lord?" (37:17), we ask, does the Bible have some "present truth" for us? Yes, here are a few very clear truths:

(1) The gap between the rich and the poor will get wider, no matter what Congress does about tax cuts (James 5:1-7).

(2) The fear of terrorism will continue, even increase, no matter who is President (Luke 21:26).

(3) Entertainment and sports industries will prosper more and more (Matt. 24:38, 39; Luke 17:26-32; 2 Tim. 3:1, 4).

(4) Natural and man-made disasters will increase (Matt. 24:6-8).

(5) Family values will steadily erode and faithful sexual love become almost extinct (Matt. 24:12; 2 Tim. 3:3).

(6) The godless millions and billions will be brought to a critical decision for or against the Gospel (Joel 3:9-14).

(7) This will require an unprecedented, powerful proclamation of the true Gospel that God in His wisdom (which He still has!) will enable to penetrate somehow to all of humanity (Matt. 24:14; Rev. 18:1-4).

Meanwhile, Revelation 13 continues to outline fantastic success for the two-horned beast/nation who began by speaking "like a lamb" but ends up "speaking as a dragon" (vs. 11). All this nation's military involvements will strengthen its position. But the Good News will be proclaimed "mightily": "Come out of [Babylon], My people" (18:4).

The News behind the news: The Holy Spirit is busy preparing a responsive people. Are you listening to Him?

It's easier and more respectable to pray,"God, be merciful to me a sinner!" than to have to pray, "God, be merciful to me, a fool!"

To be a fanatic is almost worse than being a sinner. It's easier and more respectable to pray, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" than to have to pray, "God, be merciful to me, a fool!" The Bible holds out little hope for a fool, but every hope for a sinner.

Upright, non-adulterous King Saul confesses, "Behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly" (1 Sam. 26:21), but he died in despair. David confessed his deep, dark sin of adultery-murder, and was saved (Psalm 51). The spiritual disease of fanaticism is all but incurable because "vain imaginations" crowd out common-sense truth (Rom. 1:21). We never read that King Saul prayed, "God, be merciful to me, a fool!" But that "little hope" is there for the fool if he can bring himself to be honest and lowly enough to pray that almost-unheard-of prayer, because the promise is clear: "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered" (Joel 2:32).

Can you imagine someone who was mightily tempted to think that he was a fool? And probably prayed, "Lord save me from being a fool!" Abraham (when he was Abram) had heard the Lord tell him he would become "the father of many nations," would have children in number as the stars, would be a blessing to all the world, etc., etc. And what happened to confirm those grand dreams? Nothing, nothing, decade after decade. Do you suppose he ever wondered if his memory had played him false, that all he had was delusions of grandeur?

A Boy at the age of 12 dreamed of being the Lamb of God, the world's Savior, who heard a Voice from heaven declare Him "My beloved Son." But He ended up after all those dreams of glory apparently like a common criminal--worse than the two thieves crucified with Him--they were just simple sinners; no one scorned them for having delusions of grandeur. But His ridiculers "cast the same in His teeth" (Matt. 27:44).

If you are "a child of Abraham" (Jesus was!) you will be tempted to think that God's promises to unworthy you of answered prayers are delusions of grandeur. Abraham avoided fanaticism because he saw the cross of Christ (John 8:56). No one can be moved by Calvary and end up a fanatic.

The desires of the righteous shall be granted. (Proverbs 10:24)

The desires of the righteous shall be granted. (Proverbs 10:24)

Because it is a righteous desire it is safe for God to grant it. It would be neither good for the man himself, nor for society at large, that such a promise should be made to the unrighteous. Let us keep the Lord's commands, and He will rightfully have respect to our desires.

When righteous men are left to desire unrighteous desires, they will not be granted to them. But then these are not their real desires; they are their wanderings or blunders, and it is well that they should be refused. Their gracious desires shall come before the Lord, and He will not say them nay.

Does the Lord deny us our requests for a time? Let the promise for today encourage us to ask again. Has He denied us altogether? We will thank Him still, for it always was our desire that He should deny us if He judged a denial to be best.

As to some things, we ask very boldly. Our chief desires are for holiness, usefulness, likeness to Christ, preparedness for heaven. These are the desires of grace rather than of nature--the desires of the righteous man rather than of the mere man. God will not stint us in these things but will do for us exceeding abundantly. "Delight thy self also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." This day, my soul, ask largely!

Billions cry out, "What must I do to be saved?"

Billions cry out, "What must I do to be saved?" The Bible answer is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ ..." (Acts 16:30, 31).

You cannot tell someone who is "without strength" (Rom 5:6) to "DO something." Salvation by works is useless. What you can do is to tell someone something to "believe." Believe what? That "Christ died for the ungodly."

On His cross Christ identified fully with the sinner. Darkness enveloped His soul. He was terrified of the second death that He faced. He was within a millimeter of coming "unglued" (see Psalm 22:14, 15). The cable that bound Him to sanity was only a hair's breadth. But through that cable there flowed a millivolt of faith: "Why have You forsaken Me?" was His despairing cry; He did ask the question. And He waited in the darkness for the answer. He did not curse God, which Job's wife told him to do. And don't you ever do it!

Jesus doesn't ask us to DO what He DID; He asks us to BELIEVE what HE did, that is, to appreciate it. In that total darkness of human despair, He built a bridge over our dark chasm--"the atonement." The Father did not reconcile the Son to Himself; the Son reconciled Himself to the Father. "You can forsake Me," cries Christ, "but I will not forsake You!"

In the total darkness of being "made sin," suffering the ultimate hell of God-forsakenness (2 Cor. 5:21), being "made" us, bearing the total weight of our guilt, selfishness, despair, our hell, He is "poured out like water, ... [His] heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of [His] soul. [His] strength is dried up" [He is "without strength"],--in all this horror He chooses to believe a morsel of Good News: "Thou hast heard Me from the last utter extremity of being tossed on the horns of the vicious wild buffalo" (see Psalm 22:21).

That millivolt of faith triumphed: "He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; ... but when he cried unto Him, He heard" (vs. 24). He chose to believe without an iota of outward evidence. Thus "agape never faileth" (1 Cor. 13:8). Tell someone!

Was Jesus at one time a teenager?

Was Jesus at one time a teenager? Does He really understand modern teenagers? Or is He from a far-past generation and out of touch?

In reality, Jesus is tomorrow's up-to-date teenager, the teenager who has common sense, who is not afraid of his or her peers, who has true joy deep in His heart, who is free from this terrible prison that most teenagers are locked into--the awful fear of being alone, standing alone, being "different." Jesus was not afraid of anyone--and you don't need to be afraid of anyone, either.

You see, Jesus is not revealed merely in one little tiny segment of 18 years between His age of 12 ands His later age of 30. The question is: why doesn't the Bible tell us more about Jesus during those 18 years, especially his teenage years. The answer is that Jesus has revealed Himself all through history, and we read of Him revealing Himself throughout the Bible--in teenagers.

First, there is Abel, not afraid to reason with his brother Cain about the meaning of the cross. Jesus was revealed in him. Then there is the teenager Abram, refusing to go with his dad to worship the moon-god in Ur of the Chaldees; again, there you see Jesus at work. Then there is the teenager Moses, refusing to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter, unafraid to be different at the royal court. Then there is, well, who? David, of course, the teenager who killed Goliath. He could never have done that unless the Spirit of Jesus was in his heart that day. And that must be why David wrote Psalm 119, Jesus' diary as a teenager. Read it please, with that idea in mind.

I could go on--the teenager Jeremiah for example--lucky guy, can I say that?? With all the sufferings he went through?? Yes, Jeremiah had the peace of God in his heart--and there are millions of teenagers who want just that more than anything else. If you have it, by the grace of God, help somebody else.

Jesus died as a real Savior for real sinners. (Numbers 21:8)

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shalt come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (Numbers 21:8)

This is a glorious gospel type. Jesus, numbered with the transgressors, hangs before us on the cross. A look to Him will heal us of the serpent-bite of sin; will heal us at once--"When he looketh upon it, he shall live." Let the reader who is mourning his sinfulness note the words--"Everyone that looketh upon it shall live." Every looker will find this true. I have found it so. I looked to Jesus and lived at once, I know I did. Reader, if you look to Jesus you will live, too. True, you are swelling with the venom, and you see no hope. True, also, there is no hope but this one. But this is no doubtful cure--"Everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live."

The brazen serpent was not lifted up as a curiosity to be gazed upon by the healthy; but its special purpose was for those who were "bitten." Jesus died as a real Savior for real sinners. Whether the bite has made you a drunkard, or a thief, or an unchaste or a profane person, a look at the great Savior will heal you of these diseases and make you live in holiness and communion with God. Look and live.

Someone asked, “Can you explain what Jesus means in Matthew regarding Peter being the rock.?

Someone asked, “Can you explain what Jesus means in Matthew regarding Peter being the rock. The Catholic Church believes he was the first pope.”

There are two words in Matthew 16:18 which must not be confused. “PETROS” is the Greek word for a pebble, a small stone that can be thrown around. That’s the name which Jesus gave Simon when He first met him (John 1:42). From the beginning, Jesus knew Simon’s character. By the time of Matthew 16 (which was near the crucifixion) Peter had distinguished himself for being brash and unstable, living up to that humble name Jesus gave him in an effort to prepare him for that night when Peter denied Him three times.

The second word in Matthew 16:18 is “PETRA,” which means a great outcrop of rock on which people could build a skyscraper. That’s the “rock” on which Jesus said He will build His church. Peter himself vigorously denies that he is the “petra” on which Christ builds His church (see 1 Peter 2:4-8). The Bible frequently identifies the Lord Himself as the “rock” or “stone” of our salvation (Deut. 32:4; 2 Sam. 22:32; Psalm 18:31; 95:1; 1 Cor. 3:11).

This is something you may be able to share with your Catholic friends.

The enemy is preparing for his last campaign against the church. He has so concealed himself from view that many can hardly believe that he exists,

The enemy is preparing for his last campaign against the church. He has
so concealed himself from view that many can hardly believe that he
exists, much less can they be convinced of his amazing activity and
power. They have to a great extent forgotten his past record; and when
he makes another advance move, they will not recognize him as their
enemy, that old serpent, but they will consider him a friend, one who is
doing a good work. Boasting of their independence they will, under his
specious, bewitching influence, obey the worst impulses of the human
heart and yet believe that God is leading them. Could their eyes be
opened to distinguish their captain, they would see that they are not
serving God, but the enemy of all righteousness. They would see that
their boasted independence is one of the heaviest fetters Satan can
rivet on unbalanced minds.

-- Testimonies for the Church Volume Five, page 294

No joy can excel that of the soldier of Christ: Jesus

"Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp."-Hebrews 13:13

Jesus, bearing His cross, went forth to suffer without the gate. The Christian's reason for leaving the camp of the world's sin and religion is not because he loves to be singular, but because Jesus did so; and the disciple must follow his Master. Christ was "not of the world:" His life and His testimony were a constant protest against conformity with the world. Never was such overflowing affection for men as you find in Him; but still He was separate from sinners. In like manner Christ's people must "go forth unto Him." They must take their position "without the camp," as witness-bearers for the truth. They must be prepared to tread the straight and narrow path. They must have bold, unflinching, lion-like hearts, loving Christ first, and His truth next, and Christ and His truth beyond all the world. Jesus would have His people "go forth without the camp" for their own sanctification. You cannot grow in grace to any high degree while you are conformed to the world. The life of separation may be a path of sorrow, but it is the highway of safety; and though the separated life may cost you many pangs, and make every day a battle, yet it is a happy life after all. No joy can excel that of the soldier of Christ: Jesus reveals Himself so graciously, and gives such sweet refreshment, that the warrior feels more calm and peace in his daily strife than others in their hours of rest. The highway of holiness is the highway of communion. It is thus we shall hope to win the crown if we are enabled by divine grace faithfully to follow Christ "without the camp." The crown of glory will follow the cross of separation. A moment's shame will be well recompensed by eternal honour; a little while of witness-bearing will seem nothing when we are "for ever with the Lord."

Do you hunger for human love? This is a natural, God-given hunger. But you won't find its satisfaction in sex;

The people in Corinth were wealthy, busy, cultured, many were educated, and they were obsessed by sensual pleasure and sex. There was even a temple devoted to sex as a religion, with (it is reported) 1000 girls and women serving as temple prostitutes, and of course men as well. A huge city of 600,000 people, a modern New York, London, Tokyo, or San Francisco. Even today the exact same problems of money and sex obsess people. And they are both cruel deceptions, for neither can satisfy the deep longings in the human heart.

Do you hunger for money and wealth? You are looking for heaven on earth, and you won't find it here--only disappointment. Do you hunger for human love? This is a natural, God-given hunger. But you won't find its satisfaction in sex; all you'll get is a momentary thrill and an empty sense of guilt and self-condemnation afterwards.

What you hunger for is the real thing--which is genuine love. And that is the love of Christ. Paul discovered that the love of Christ was the answer to the heart-cry of Corinth. He said, "The preaching of the cross ... is the power of God. ... I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 1:18; 2:2).

The people saw themselves on that cross with Jesus; He was not only dying in their place, He was dying as them; they identified with Him. The revelation of that love as agape proved to be the only medicine that could heal human hearts and souls poisoned with the disease of sensuality. That love, agape, conquers sin at its deepest roots.

The Bible says you get it by looking--opening your eyes, in other words. "Behold [take a good long look at] the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). You think that's too simple? Well, it does take time. You must take time to "look."

If we divide ourselves between God and mammon, or Christ and self, we shall make no progress.

Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all. (1 Timothy 4:15)

This is, practically, a promise that, by diligent meditation and the giving up of our whole mind to our work for the Lord we shall make a progress which all can see. Not by hasty reading but by deep meditation we profit by the Word of God. Not by doing a great deal of work in a slovenly manner, but by giving our best thought to what we attempt, we shall get real profit. "In all labor there is profit" but not in fuss and hurry without true heart-energy.

If we divide ourselves between God and mammon, or Christ and self, we shall make no progress. We must give ourselves wholly to holy things, or else we shall be poor traders in heavenly business, and at our stocktaking no profit will be shown.

Am I a minister? Let me be a minister wholly and not spend my energies upon secondary concerns. What have I to do with party politics or vain amusements? Am I a Christian? Let me make my service of Jesus my occupation, my lifework, my one pursuit. We must be in-and-in with Jesus, and then out-and-out for Jesus, or else we shall make neither progress nor profit, and neither the church nor the world will feel the forceful influence which the Lord would have us exercise.

"the righteousness of the law" (dikaiomata, Gr.) becomes "fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the [Holy] Spirit" (Rom. 8:4).

The apostle Paul was a gift to the followers of Jesus. He disdained any claim to be called "an apostle," thought of himself as "one born out of due time," "the least of the apostles" (1 Cor. 15:8, 9), "less than the least of all the saints" (Eph. 3:8).

He never forgot his hatred of Jesus Christ; he had "persecuted the church of God" (1 Cor. 15:9). This was not a front; he understood corporate guilt. Whatever sin any descendant of the fallen Adam might commit, Paul saw he was capable of the same, for he understood the sinfulness of his natural-born genes inherited from the fallen Adam.

The Holy Spirit taught him, but it's also true that never had a Jew (other than Jesus) studied the Bible as he did, gleaning truth that the Eleven had not understood, yet they were not jealous of him.

Grasping the reality of his sin, he grasped Christ's righteousness (dikaiosune, Gr.). The Father sent "His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for [on account of] sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (ours; Rom. 8:3). Deep in the human heart are the rootlets of sin (7:7-11; what woke him up was the conviction of breaking the seventh commandment!). The pure law of God had nailed him like the most common sinner.

The Son of God in our human flesh had met the grand Enemy in mortal combat in His human flesh and forever condemned sin there--a victory not one of earth's billions of "saints" had accomplished except by means of "the faith of Jesus." Alone, friendless, persecuted, rejected, Christ spent His entire life rejecting temptations to sin; His final test--the darkness on His cross. One sinful, selfish thought indulged would have cost Him His glorious victory.

He shares His victory with us; if appreciated, "the righteousness of the law" (dikaiomata, Gr.) becomes "fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the [Holy] Spirit" (Rom. 8:4). Those who so "walk" today are preparing for the soon coming of Jesus. "Unworthy"? Of course; but it's His grace--greater than our sin.