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The Ten Virgins Represent the Church

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The Ten Virgins Represent the Church

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Matthew 25:6.

Christ with His disciples is seated upon the Mount of Olives. The sun has set behind the mountains, and the heavens are curtained with the shades of evening. In full view is a dwelling house lighted up brilliantly as if for some festive scene. The light streams from the openings, and an expectant company wait around, indicating that a marriage procession is soon to appear.

In many parts of the East, wedding festivities are held in the evening. The bridegroom goes forth to meet his bride and bring her to his home. By torchlight the bridal party proceed from her father's house to his own, where a feast is provided for the invited guests. In the scene upon which Christ looks, a company are waiting the appearance of the bridal party, intending to join the procession.

Lingering near the bride's house are ten young women robed in white. Each carries a lighted lamp and a small flagon for oil. All are anxiously watching for the appearance of the bridegroom. But there is a delay. Hour after hour passes; the watchers become weary and fall asleep. At midnight the cry is heard, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." The sleepers, suddenly awaking, spring to their feet. They see the procession moving on, bright with torches and glad with music. They hear the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

The ten maidens seize their lamps and begin to trim them, in haste to go forth. But five have neglected to fill their flasks with oil. They did not anticipate so long a delay, and they have not prepared for the emergency. In distress they appeal to their wiser companions, saying, "Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out." But the waiting five, with their freshly trimmed lamps, have emptied their flagons. They have no oil to spare, and they answer, "Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves."

While they went to buy, the procession moved on, and left them behind. The five with lighted lamps joined the throng and entered the house with the bridal train, and the door was shut. When the foolish virgins reached the banqueting hall, they received an unexpected denial. . . .

As Christ sat looking upon the party that waited for the bridegroom, He told His disciples the story of the ten virgins, by their experience illustrating the experience of the church that shall live just before His second coming.--Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 405, 406.

Reflecting Christ p. 209

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Prayer Requests

-----Please pray for Kevin … Satan desires to destroy him. Please pray that God will bring him strong deliverance from every vice of the enemy in the name of Jesus and he will be a shining star in the kingdom of God . I believe Christ is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him (Heb.7:25). Joan 

-----I have more prayer requests.....my ol' boss lost her only child last night at the age of 22. Heather died of a blood clot to the brain and was 2 mo. pregnant with twins.....Please pray for strength for the following days for Nadene as she deals with this terrible loss. I was blessed today to be able to attend the baby funeral of Lilly...it has been a heart wrenching day for sure, altho we do not understand the whys? God loves his Children and they are safe in the Hands of God now. M

-----Can you please pray for me to get a job. I applied for 2 jobs that I am very qualified for and I really need to get a job immediately. Debbie

-----.I'm not feeling well and it just seems like Satan is attacking from all angles. Please pray that I feel better! Frances

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Dear Friends,

When Eileen was six, she and her cousin, Annie, often played together. One day, as they were playing, they noticed DJ, Annie's little brother, who was two at the time eating something. They walked over to see what he had. There he was, happily eating live, wiggling worms! Eileen and Annie thought that was "yucky" and took the worms away. DJ began to cry. After talking their problem over, they decided that they would cook the worms for him. That would dry his tears.

Alabama is very hot in the summertime---hot enough that you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. So, they decided to fry the worms there. They explained to the whimpering DJ, that they were going to make the worm taste better for him. It didn't take long before the worm was hard and stiff. They girls then picked it up and gave it to the boy. DJ ate it happily. He seemed to like fried worms much better than live ones, so they helped find him more. 

A little later, I decided it was time to check on Eileen and see if she was alright. I walked around the trailer park until I found them. When I saw them putting worms on the hot sidewalk, I was shocked. As I looked around I could see many dried worms. Hating to see any animal hurt or killed, I explained that what they were doing was very wrong. 

Taking Eileen by the hand and leading her into the house, I told her that she could not play outside for the rest of the day. This would help her remember to be kind to animals.  Eileen was not happy. She felt that she was being treated unfairly and told me so. Finally, she was able to make me understand why they had done what they did. As I listened, I could see that in their childish reasoning that they were doing what they thought was right. I had misjudged their motives.

How often we misjudge one another. How often we "jump to conclusions" before we really know all of the circumstances. How often we condemn before understanding their motives. Our Dear Saviour said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." Matt 7:1-5 He did not mean that we should allow wrongs to exist, but that we should "[not judge] according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." John 7:24

Just as it was right to stop Eileen and Annie from feeding DJ worms, so we are told that there is a time to judge. We should, however, be very careful not to shun, not to gossip, not to discourage, not to condemn. Instead, restoration should have a part with the judgment.

While it is true that when we see a wrong, we should not keep silent, we should to very careful of our own motives and work with that individual in a loving way. "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Gal 6:1,2

Let us ask for wisdom, that we might not misjudge another's motives. Let us ask for the eyesalve of the Holy Spirit that we may work for the erring as Jesus did, seeking for their restoration; for if we do not approach them correctly, we will drive them further away from the right path. Let us, when corrected, study and pray to see if we truly, have strayed; and if so, step back upon the right path; but if not, stand firmly for the right.

Rose

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