The Servant of the Lord Must Not Strive

Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
--II Timothy 2:22-26

The Lord is My Light and My Salvation

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
--Psalm 27

Love Not the World

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world,
-the lust of the flesh, and
-the lust of the eyes, and
-the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof;
but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
--I John 2:15-17

No Darkness At All

... God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
--I John 1:5-7

What to Put Off and What to Put On

Put off:
-anger
-wrath
-malice
-blasphemy
-filthy communication out of your mouth
-lying one to another
-the old man with his deeds

Put on:
-the new man (which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him)
-bowels of mercies
-kindness
-humbleness of mind
-meekness
-longsuffering
-forbearance to one another
-forgiveness to one another (even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye)
-above all, charity (which is the bond of perfectness)
--Colossians 3:8-14

Signs of His Coming

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying,

Tell us,
when shall these things be?
and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

And Jesus answered and said unto them,

Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;

and then shall the end come.
--Matthew 24 vs. 1-14

Look Back to Israel

Ye who are now God's chosen people,

Look back to Israel of old!

From their example take a teaching

And cling to God with heart and soul!

Without complaint and lamentation

Bear ye distress and earth's privation;

Rely upon your Saviour's hand.

Your tears will change to joyful singing;

From desert wild your God is bringing

You to that fair and promised land.

--Zion's Harp #211 vs. 3

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
--I Corinthians 10:1-12

Scoffers

...there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
And saying,
'Where is the promise of his coming?
for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.'
--II Peter 3:3-4

The scoffers who question the return of the Lord are themselves proof of the truth of His Word.

Even those who do not believe in Him fulfill His Word.

Wounded For Our Transgressions

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
--Isaiah 53

In The Latter Times

Now the Spirit speaketh
expressly (distinctly, unmistakably, specifically),
that
in the latter times
some shall depart from the faith,

giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils;

Speaking lies in hypocrisy;
having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Forbidding to marry,
and commanding to abstain from meats,
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving
of them which believe and know the truth.
--I Timothy 4:1-3

But A Short Time

Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea!
for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath,
because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
--Revelation 12:12

Who Shall Abide?

LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?
Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

He that:
-walketh uprightly, and
-worketh righteousness, and
-speaketh the truth in his heart.

He that:
-backbiteth not with his tongue,
-nor doeth evil to his neighbour,
-nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

-In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD.

-He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

He that:
-putteth not out his money to usury,
-nor taketh reward against the innocent.

He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
--Psalm 15

Possess Your Souls in Patience

... they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.
And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:
For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.
But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
In your patience possess ye your souls.
--Luke 21:12-19

Be Ready To Give Answer

And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, nor be troubled;

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

--I Peter 3:13-15

Question

Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth? --Luke 18:8

Sigh and Cry

And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark... --Ezekiel 9:4-6

Do we sigh and cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst of our cities and our nation? Or do we become so calloused that we scarcely perceive them? Or do we even become interested in them?

The Lord marked those that were "sighing and crying" as His own.

Famine

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
--Amos 8:11-13

Let us never take for granted the hearing of the true Word of God.

His Mercy Endureth Forever

O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the God of gods: for His mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him who alone doeth great wonders: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him that by wisdom made the heavens: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him that made great lights: for His mercy endureth for ever.
The sun to rule by day: for His mercy endureth for ever.
The moon and stars to rule by night: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for His mercy endureth for ever.
And brought out Israel from among them: for His mercy endureth for ever.
With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him which divided the Red Sea into parts: for His mercy endureth for ever.
And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for His mercy endureth for ever.
But overthrew Pharoah and his host in the Red Sea: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him which led His people through the wilderness: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him which smote great kings: for His mercy endureth for ever.
And slew famous kings: for His mercy endureth for ever.
Sihon, king of the Amorites: for His mercy endureth for ever;
And Og the king of Bashan: for His mercy endureth for ever;
And gave their land for an heritage: for His mercy endureth for ever,
Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for His mercy endureth for ever.
Who remembered us in our low estate: for His mercy endureth for ever.
And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for His mercy endureth for ever.
Who giveth food to all flesh: for His mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for His mercy endureth for ever.
--Psalm 136

A Short, Fervent Prayer

Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
-Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31

So much said in so few words!

Who Shall Separate Us...?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall:
-tribulation?
-distress?
-persecution?
-famine?
-nakedness?
-peril?
-sword?

Nay! in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us!

For I am persuaded, that neither:
-death, nor
-life, nor
-angels, nor
-principalities, nor
-powers, nor
-things present, nor
-things to come, nor
-height, nor
-depth, nor
-any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
--Romans 8:35, 37-39

What a comprehensive list! What triumph sounds in the Apostle Paul's ringing words!

Is there then anything that can separate us from the love of Christ and God?

There is one thing that is notably missing from this list: self.

Self-pity,
Lack of self-denial,
Self-exaltation and pride,
Any focus on self ... can and will separate us from the love of our Lord.