He is Always Near

___Blessings from our Almighty God our Father and His only begotten Son, our loving Saviour, Jesus Christ!!
___Jesus said in the book of John, chapter 14, verse 27, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
___That is a precious promise. He says that He leaves us peace - not peace of the world, since you can't find peace from it. But you can find real, everlasting peace in Jesus Christ our Lord! He says, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
___He will never leave us nor forsake us!! He is always near!!
___"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22.
___May God be with you and keep you in all truth until His soon return!! I pray that if I don't meet you on this most evil world, that I'll meet you in heaven, where it's just lovely and sweet!! Meet me there!!
___"Looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:13,14.
___"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2.
___"Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God..." 2Peter 3:12.
___"Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen." Jude 21, 24, 25.
______He Is Always Near.
___" 'But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith He to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.' Matthew 9:6.
___"With a new hope the sick man looks upon Jesus. The expression of His countenance, the tones of His voice, are like no other. Love and power seem to breathe from His very presence. The cripple's faith takes hold upon Christ's word. Without question he sets his will to obey, and, as he does this, his whole body responds.
___"Every nerve and muscle thrills with new life, healthful action comes to his crippled limbs. Springing to his feet, he goes on his way with firm, free step, praising God and rejoicing in his new found strength.... Acting on the word of Christ, he was made whole.
___"By sin we have been severed from the life of God. Our souls are palsied. Of ourselves we are no more capable of living a holy life than was the impotent man capable of walking. Many realize their helplessness; they are longing for that spiritual life which will bring them into harmony with God, and are striving to obtain it. But in vain. In despair they cry, 'O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?' (Rom. 7:24, Margin). Let these desponding, struggling ones look up. The Saviour is bending over the purchase of His blood, saying with inexpressible tenderness and pity, "Wilt thou be made whole?" He bids you arise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. Believe the Saviour's word. Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practice, that master passion which through long indulgence binds both soul and body, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soul that is 'dead in trespasses' (Eph. 2:1)....
___"When temptations assail you, when care and perplexity surround you, when, depressed and discouraged, you are ready to yield to despair, look to Jesus, and the darkness that encompasses you will be dispelled by the bright shining of His presence. When sin struggles for the mastery in your soul, and burdens the conscience, look at the Saviour. His grace is sufficient to subdue sin. Let your grateful heart, trembling with uncertainty, turn to Him. Lay hold on the hope set before you. Christ waits to adopt you into His family. His strength will help your weakness; He will lead you step by step. Place your hand in His, and let Him guide you.
___"Never feel that Christ is far away. He is always near. His loving presence surrounds you. Seek Him as one who desires to be found of you. He desires you not only to touch His garments, but to walk with Him in constant communion." --The Ministry of Healing, pp. 84,85.
___"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.
___May you draw ever so much closer to Him!! If we draw nigh to God, He'll draw nigh to us!
___God bless you most richly and continually!

The King of Kings' ambassador to this evil world,
Sister K.

He Supplies Our Needs!

"Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" Matthew 6:25.

___"He who has given you life knows your need of food to sustain it. He who created the body is not unmindful of your needs of raiment. Will not He who has bestowed the greater gift bestow also what is needed to make it complete? Jesus pointed His hearers to the birds as they warbler their carols of praise, unencumbered with thoughts of care, for 'they sow not, neither do they reap;' and yet the great Father provides for their needs. And He asks, 'Are not ye of much more value than they?'
____'No sparrow falls without His care, No soul bows low but Jesus knows;
____For He is with us everywhere,
____And marks each bitter tear that flows.
____And He will never, Never NEVER
____Forsake the soul that trust Him ever...'
___"God's law is the law of love. He has surrounded you with beauty to teach you that you are not placed on earth merely to delve for self, to dig and build, to toil and spin, but to make life bright and joyous and beautiful with the love of Christ-like the flowers, to gladden other lives by the ministry of love.
___"Fathers and mothers, let your children learn from the flowers. Take them with you into garden and field and under the leafy trees, and teach them to read in nature the message of God's love. Let the thoughts of Him be linked with bird and flower and tree. Lead the children to see in every pleasant and beautiful thing an expression of God's love for them. Recommend your religion to them by it's pleasantness. Let the law of kindness be in your lips.
___"Teach the children that because of God's great love their natures may be changed and brought into harmony with His. Teach them that He would have their lives beautiful with the graces of the flowers. Teach them, as they gather the sweet blossoms, that He who made the flowers is more beautiful than they. Thus the tendrils of their hearts will be entwined about Him. He who is 'altogether lovely' will become to them as a daily companion and familiar friend, and their lives will be transformed into image of His purity." (Thoughts From the Mount be Blessing, pp. 95-98).
___"God would adorn our characters with His own rich graces. He would have our words as fragrant as the flowers of the field." (Review and Herald, May 19, 1896)
Lift Him Up, February 28th, p. 73.

Posted by: Sister K.

Learning to Swim

Psalms 15:1-3
From the porch swing came the hum of animated conversation, with every now and then a merry laugh. In the living room Aunt Jane clicked her knitting needles impatiently, and sniffed disapproval. “Really, Stella,” she remarked acidly, “I wish Joan had more independence and backbone. That Marshall girl treated her mean as mean only last week, and yet here’s Joan talking and giggling with her as sweetly as if she hadn’t been shamefully used. Now I wouldn’t stand it! I wouldn’t!” Mrs. Hartwell looked up, and her eyes lingered on the hard, bitter lines that marked her sister's face. Then she listened, with a smile, as the sweet, gentle voice of her daughter came drifting in through the open window. “Why, I don’t think Joan lacks spirit,” she answered. “You know how, as a little girl, she used to resent a slight. But lately she seems---” there were gay “Goodbye’s” outside; the screen door banged; the “culprit” stood before them smiling. “Joan,” began Aunt Jane severely, “How can you be so spineless as to treat that girl as a friend? Have you no pride? She’s been saying the meanest things about you--lies every one of them! Why, Mrs. Gray told me---” “Oh, stop, auntie! Please stop!” and Joan put her fingers in her ears. “Don’t repeat it, please. I don’t want to know!” “And why not?” Inquired her aunt. There was a moment or two of silence, and then a brave face, in which two gray eyes swam with tears, was lifted to Aunt Jane’s stern visage. “Because,” she explained calmly, “I’m leaning to swim. You remember, Mother,” and she turned to the one who was sure to understand, “what a time I had learning to swim when we were down at the coast last summer? My head just would go down, and then I’d come sputtering, with such a dreadful salt taste in my mouth. At last my teacher said, ‘Keep your head up and your mouth shut, and then you’ll be all right!’ and, sure enough, I was! After we came home I got to thinking about it, and I finally decided like this auntie: if I listen to all the gossip that’s floating around, I’m sure to go down with it and come up sputtering. That just makes me feel mean all over. But if I keep my head up and my ears and mouth shut, then I can have a perfectly lovely time-- riding the breakers. And it’s ever so much more fun then to be sputtering all the time! It really is!” “Humph!” said Aunt Jane; but the teller of the story says that her frown was a bit less deep, and her knitting needles clicked a bit more softly.--
___Let's be like little Joan, lets be learning how to swim, and not go down with the unkind things people say about each other. Lets keep our mouths and ears shut from speaking and hearing unkind things, and pray for those that may gossip to us and say some unkind thing about someone else! Lets turn the other cheek, and be like Christ! Lets forgive when someone says something that makes us feel bad or mad! Lets turn the other cheek in love and treat them as if nothing was said!! By God's grace and mighty strength we can do so!

____Words
Words are the vehicles of thought,
The magic means by which we’re taught.
They are the messengers that tell
The way to heaven, the way to hell.
__Words have a wondrous winning way,
__Whene’er we know just what to say;
__But when we fail to chose them right,
__They change our day to darkest night.
Words soothe our souls, words rouse our fears;
Words touch our hearts, words bring the tears.
Words build us up, words tear us down;
Words make us smile, words make us frown.
__Words bring us hope, words bring despair;
__Words make us hate, words make us care.
__Words make us meek, words stir up pride;
__Words prove us true, words prove we’ve lied.
Words make us good, words make us bad;
Words make us weep, words make us glad.
We bless or curse by what we say.
God, teach us how to talk, I pray.
__Teach us wise words; teach us their power;
__Teach us to use them hour by hour
__In such a way that we can know
__We’ll bless the world, where'er we go!
At last, in God's great judgment tried,
By words condemned or justified!
Since by our words we’re saved or lost,
Before we speak, let's count the cost!
___By: A. A. Esteb.


Posted by: Sister K...