Hearts Made Glad and Homes Made Happy, Sketches of Subjects for Mothers' Meetings and Fathers' Classes (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1871. Excerpt: ... XXXV. THE MESSAGE TO THE LAODICEAN CHURCH. REVELATION HI. 14--22. The word of the Spirit is for you and me as well as for the Church of Laodicea. (Chap. ii. 7; iii. 22.) May He grant us understanding as we dwell on the message to-day. "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." (1 Col. ii. 11.) He must be our Interpreter, and reveal to us the meaning of all things which Jesus said. Each message to the different Churches begins with these words, "I know thy works." It is a solemn thought that we cannot get away from the all-searching eye of God: the far-off thought, the word, the way, the path, are all marked, all "winnowed" (marg.) by the Lord. (Ps. cxxxix. 2--4.) "Whither," exclaims David, "shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy Presence?" (Ver. 7.) But whilst we feel the awfulness of these verses, we may also find some comfort in remembering that it is a loving eye ever upon us; and if we are walking in the light, "the blood of Jesus Christ cleansing us from all sin," we need not fear the searching glance, for the heart and conscience washed in that blood are "whiter than snow." And then it is a comfort to know that all our trials and temptations are known and weighed by the Lord. "He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job xxiii. 10.) The Church of Laodicea was in a very unsatisfactory state. That was what God said of them when He examined their works: there was evidence of decline and backsliding. Let us see I. What They Were. II. What They Thought Themselves. III. What They Needed. IV. The Pleading Love Of Jesus. I. They wer.e lukewarm, and they were ignorant of their own condition. The expression in ver. 16 is very strong of God's utter abhorrence of lukewarmness. It ...