Editorial

‘Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching’, Luke 12. 37.

Seeing that we do not know at what time of any day the Lord will return, the key words for our encouragement in this His statement regarding us and that moment is not that He expects us to be ‘working’ but ‘watching’. The Lord is at pains then to stress an essential attitude of heart and mind rather than any particular activity that may fill our hands.

You wonder why? May I suggest that firstly, if our attitude to His return is right, then we will not be lacking as far as the practical outworking of that is concerned in service. Secondly, it applies all across the age range. Maybe our age and stage doesn’t allow us, as once we could, to be at the coalface of the service of Christ, but our hearts can still be in the ‘watching’ mode and this is what He appreciates most.

We are not the first generation of believers to be asked to watch for His coming. There were centuries when with all the prophetic guidance in place, the Jewish nation was only required to wait and watch. The promise of His coming was sure and certain, the only thing lacking was the precise moment when He would appear.

It is good to look and see how God records for us just how those that were found who were, ‘waiting and watching’ when He came the first time. How many were there? What were they doing and how did they perceive that He had come? The shepherds were ‘watching over their flocks by night,’ but they did not really expect the visitation they received. The Magi were observing the night skies and could say, ‘we have seen his star in the east and are come’, so they were watching. Though we have no record, there is no doubt that Zacharias and Elizabeth were watching too, for they were part of it all.

Were there no others? Of course there were! They were a small but godly remnant that, just as in Malachi’s day, were those that, ‘feared the Lord and spake often one to another’. Mal. 3. 16. Where did they wait for the coming then? Luke records it for us, ‘he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus…then took he him up in his arms’, 2. 27. Simeon was there right on cue and the reason was because he was listening to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Then there is Anna, consistently devoted, and departing not from the temple, who also, ‘coming in at that time’. So she was on cue also. From these, ‘all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem’, knew that He had come.

The majority, sadly, were neither watching nor waiting. How do you and I greet each day in the light of His return? Is it, ‘Perhaps Today’ in our hearts every day? For it not to be so, robs the Lord of His most coveted desire for His Own. He wants us to be watching for His coming, and constantly praying, ‘Even so come Lord Jesus’. We have nothing else to wait for so let us keep faith with Him until that moment, Maranatha!.

We have begun another year and this is another magazine. But it is not just another year for in September it will be 60 years ago that the first edition of Precious Seed Magazine was produced and circulated. We have planned some special editions for the last two of the year to celebrate. We have no Keynote article in this issue as we completed the nine articles we had on hand last year. However we are convinced that the positive approaches of these messages has done much to encourage and inspire us to greater heights of assembly testimony and experience so that we have planned another nine commencing with the May issue, DV. We are glad to have Paul Young’s article on the Welsh Revival of 1904, so that the centenary of this event does not go unmarked by the magazine. Here also you will find there are two articles to stir up our minds regarding gospel outreach and two others to stir up our hearts to ‘love one another’. As always the magazine comes to you with our prayers that the Lord will be pleased to bless it and its contents to all His believing people.

Finally we are sad to have to report the sudden home call of our beloved brother Ivan Steeds who for many years was very much part of the Precious Seed Magazine. Also that we have lost the help of Colin Hutchison who now has other things to do for the Lord closer to home, his input will be greatly missed. As you will note from the listing of Trustees our brother Stephen Baker has taken on responsibility for the Reports Section and John Bennett will do the Book Reviews. Please continue in prayer for us.