greatest false Messiah, the antichrist, will appear. Death will be the penal ty for resisting his demands for worship. In I John 4:3 we see how this spirit of deception is already rampant in the world. Another of the signs Christ gave would be something we know today, “wars and rumors of war” (v. 6). This fits the times in which we’re living, as it has all down through the centuries. To this the Lord adds, “The end is not yet.” You see, just wars and rumors of wars are not a sure sign that the age of the Church has come to the end. The same is true with the next verse which hasn’t seen its full fulfillment either. The increasing racial antagonism and hatred, so much a part of our times, may well make us wonder if this isn’t what is referred to. Christ described all of these as “the beginning of sorrows.” These are “travail pains,” for the world cannot always endure the sin and evil that are increasing. Let us keep our eyes firmly affixed to prophetic Scripture even as we read our newspapers in these difficult days. May our hearts re-echo, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” TREASURES One by one he took them from me, All the things I valued most, Until I was empty-handed; Every glittering toy was lost. And I walked earth’s highways, Grieving, in my rags and poverty, Till I heard His voice inviting, “Lift your empty hands to me!” So I held my hands toward heaven. And He filled me with a store Of His own transcendent riches. Till they could contain no more. And at last I comprehended With my stupid mind and dull, That God could not pour His riches Into hands already full! — Martha Snell Nicholson
GIVE UP Give up because the cross is heavy, Sink down in weakness 'neath its load? Give up and say you can't endure it, Too rough, too toilsome, is the road? Oh, no; rejoice you have a cross, A cross which none but you may bear; Why, you are rich, when by that cross You earn your right a crown to wear. Give up while there is still Heaven A God who notes the sparrow’s fall? Give up when He so longs to help you, But only wants to hear you call? He clothes the lilies, feeds the birds; Would He to you, then, pay less heed? Look up to Him with prayerful hearts, He will supply your every need. IT’S ONLY A TRACT It’s only a tract, you may tear it And crumple it up in your hand; The wind as it passes, may bear it And scatter it over the land. It’s only a tract. You may spurn it And deem it unworthy of thought: May ridicule, trample, and burn it, Despise it and set it at naught. It’s only a tract, but it telleth Of holiness, happiness, heaven; Where God in eternity dwelleth With sinners His love hath forgiven. It points to a Substitute dying, The Sinless, for sinners like you, Oh, soul, on His merits relying, Come, prove that its message is true. It’s but a tract, yet its warning Is whispered in Jesus’ own voice, And at thy acceptance or scorning Either heaven or hell will rejoice.
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