Preparing for the Judgment
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call upon Him in faith, and He has promised to hear and answer your
petitions.
Oh, for living, active, faith! We need it; we must have it, or we
shall faint and fail in the day of trial. The darkness that will then rest
upon our path must not discourage us, or drive us to despair. It is the
veil with which God covers His glory when He comes to impart rich
blessings. We should know this by our past experience. In that day
when God has a controversy with His people, this experience will be a
source of comfort and hope.
It is now that we must keep ourselves and our children unspotted
from the world. It is now that we must wash our robes of character
and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is now that we must
overcome pride, passion, and spiritual slothfulness. It is now that we
must awake, and make determined effort for symmetry of character.
“Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”
Hebrews
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4:7
. We are in a most trying position, waiting, watching for our Lord’s
appearing. The world is in darkness. “But ye, brethren,” says Paul,
“are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
1 Thessalonians 5:4
. It is ever God’s purpose to bring light out of
darkness, joy out of sorrow, and rest out of weariness, for the waiting,
longing soul.
What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation?
Those who are uniting with the world, are receiving the worldly mold,
and preparing for the mark of the beast. Those who are distrustful
of self, who are humbling themselves before God and purifying their
souls by obeying the truth,—these are receiving the heavenly mold,
and preparing for the seal of God in their foreheads. When the decree
goes forth, and the stamp is impressed, their character will remain pure
and spotless for eternity.
Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed
upon the forehead of an impure man or woman. It will never be placed
upon the forehead of the ambitious, world-loving man or woman. It
will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false
tongues or deceitful hearts. All who receive the seal must be with-
out spot before God,—candidates for heaven. Search the Scriptures
for yourselves, that you may understand the fearful solemnity of the
present hour.
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