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tive exercise of our thoughts, and those who
possess holiness will be full of response to
this supreme object of our association. We
must pay attention to all that we do during
worship such as singing. Our mental attitude
should be such that when we stand up to sing,
we sing to God not merely go through a
performance.
In this life, the present is all-important to us.
It will be too late to mend our ways when
Christ comes; remember that Christ’s coming
is not far away from every one of us. This
statement is true from the time of the
apostles (2 Corinthians 5:8-9). To be absent
from the body means that our next conscious
moment will be with the Lord. What does
that mean? In death, one ceases to live and
knows nothing any more (just like a night’s
sleep). So, practically, it means that Christ is
standing at the end of our little career, as it
were, and that at the end of that career, we
shall stand in his presence. In that sense, he
is not far off; he is waiting at the end of our
journey to receive us, although the reception
does not take place until he comes. To
summarise, if we are to die in the coming
week, practically the coming of the Lord is
only a week away from us. So whatever may
occur, to us the Lord is at the door. And this
thought has the power of giving the truth a
reality in our lives. We may fail to have this
thought if we consider that there is a long
time period before Christ comes. It helps us
to surrender our lives, our espousal to Christ
(2 Corinthians 11:2). We are entirely his. We
don’t possess the liberty the world claims.
Our position is that we must deny ourselves,
and all ungodliness and worldly lusts. We are
not our own (1 Peter 4:2). To do the will of
him who lived and died for us, seems only
reasonable. We shall find out about ourselves
when the Lord stands before us. Among all
the masses who will stand before him, none
will be selected for his companionship except
those who answer the description given to us
in scripture, that is those who have been
faithful stewards of his trust.
Holiness
Just imagine the Lord in the earth again, and
ourselves summoned to meet him. What will
be the great anxiety of every one of us? Only
one thing. All the fears and anxieties of a life-
time will be replaced by what determines
Christ’s opinion of us. What determines his
opinion is what we are now because he has
made known the principles of his judgment
(Revelation 20:12-13). So now is the time of
action. Let every person look to what they
are doing. We shall be judged by the simple
judgment: have you done what I commanded
you? All the commandments have to do with
practical daily life. With knowledge of truth,
this is true holiness. The practical manage-
ment of daily life is the main question if we
are to follow in the footsteps of our master.
Then we shall be assured of rest with him (2
Corinthians 5:9-10).
“A
nd they seized him and led him
away, and brought him into the
high priest. And Peter followed from a
distance. And when they had kindled a
fire in the middle of the courtyard and
had sat down together, Peter sat among
them. And a certain maid, seeing him as
he sat in the light of the fire and looking
earnestly upon him, said, ‘This man also
was with him.’ But he denied it saying,
‘Woman, I do not know him.’ And after a
while another person saw him and saith,
‘You also are one of them.’ But Peter said,
‘Man I am not.’ After the space of about
one hour, another confidently affirmed,
saying, ‘Of a truth, this man was with
him. For he is a Galilean.’ But Peter said,
‘Man, I do not know what you say.’ And
immediately, as he spoke, the cock crew
and the Lord turned and looked on Peter.
And he remembered the word of the Lord
that he had said to him: ‘Before the cock
crow this day, you shall deny me three
times.’ And he went out and wept
bitterly.” But, because of Peter’s repen-
tance the Lord saved him.
Don’t Deny or Mock Your Lord
| Bro Joseph Kaliyaya (Kidatu, Tanzania)