Our Redemption Draws Near

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:20)

We must meet the present emergency with a spirit of optimism. This is no time for repining, no time for looking backward, no time for self-pity or defeated complaining. We are on the winning side and we cannot lose. "I am with you alway" (Matthew 28:20) makes ultimate defeat impossible.

Surely the days are evil and the times are waxing late, but the true Christian is not caught unawares. He has been forewarned of just such times as these and has been expecting them. Present events only confirm the long-range wisdom of Jesus Christ and prove the authenticity of the prophetic Word. So the believer actually turns defeat into victory and draws strength from the knowledge that the Lord in whom he trusts has foretold events and is in full command of the situation.

Surely this is not the time for pale faces and trembling knees among the sons of the new creation. The darker the night the brighter faith shines and the sooner comes the morning. Look up and lift up your heads; our redemption draws near.

We impatiently await Your coming, Lord, and we seek to be prepared for that glorious day. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen

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What The Lord May Expect of Me

"Put off concerning .. [that] which is corrupt ... and be renewed in the spirit of your mind" (Ephesians 4:22-23)

For some of us last year was one in which we did not acquit ourselves very nobly as Christians, considering the infinite power available to us through the indwelling Spirit.

The man of illuminated mind will learn from his mistakes, yes even from his sins. If his heart is trusting and penitent, he can be a better man next year for last year's fault - but let him not return again to folly.

Repentance should be radical and thorough, and the best repentance for a wrong act, as Fenelon said, is not to do it again.

Brother Lawrence expressed the highest moral wisdom when he testified that if he stumbled and fell he turned at once to God and said, "O Lord, this is what You may expect of me if You leave me to myself." He then accepted forgiveness, thanked God and gave himself no further concern about the matter.

"Tell the backslider," says the Lord, "I am married unto him." Was there ever a tenderer message?

~A. W. Tozer~