guest devotions

RIFKAH

A HEBREW SAGE MIGHT SAY. . .
Great is repentance; it turns sins into incentives for correct conduct.

RECONCILIATION
"A man takes a wife and marries her. She fails to please him because he finds something obnoxious about her, and he writes her a bill of divorcement, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house; she leaves his household and becomes the wife of another man; then this latter husband rejects her, writes her a bill of divorcement, hands it to her, and sends her away from him; or the man who married her last dies. Then her first husband who divorced her shall not take her to wife again, since she has been defiled — disqualified for him — for that would be abhorrent to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORDyour GOD is giving you as a heritage." [Deuteronomy (Devarim) 24. 1 - 4 Tanakh, Torah]
The marvelous ministry of reconciliation has been distorted by many churches and fellow-CHRISTians when they have failed to read and follow the WRITTEN SCRIPTURES dealing with marriage and re-marriage. Even King David honoured GOD'S commandment with his concubines after they were defiled by Absalom, putting them in "a guarded place, he provided for them, but did not cohabit with them. They remained in seclusion until the day they died, living in widowhood." [2 Samuel (Shemuel Bet) 20. 3 Tanakh, Nevi'im]
"If a man divorces his wife, and she leaves him and marries another man, can he ever go back to her?" [Jeremiah (Yirmeyah) 3. 1 Tanakh, Nevi'im] The answer is emphatically — No! it would be an abomination before the HOLY & RIGHTEOUS LORD GOD because she has been defiled. On the other hand, if the couple separates for a time and remain pure, they may be reconciled together again. "Now to the married I command, yet not I but the LORD: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife." [2 Corinthians 7. 10 - 11]
However, dealing with our relationship with the ALL-WISE ETERNAL ONE, though we have been defiled by sin, HE has said: "Turn back to ME — says the LORD OF HOSTS — and I will return to you — said the LORD OF HOSTS." [Zechariah (Zecharyah) 1. 3 Tanakh, Nevi'im]
The work of reconciling lost men back to a relationship with HOLY GOD is only possible as provided by the precious blood of the PRINCE OFPEACE, MESSIAH YESHUA through HIS shed blood of atonement. HE has committed this ministry to us, HIS servants. A CHRIST-like life can only be gained if we are centered in the LORD JESUS and "those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for HIM WHOdied for them and rose again." [2 Corinthians 5. 15]

As we serve in the ministry of reconciliation, may we do the service of the MOST HOLY GOD as HE commands and not by our own understanding. "Therefore, if anyone is in CHRIST, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of GOD, WHO has reconciled us to HIMSELF through JESUS CHRIST, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that GOD was in CHRIST reconciling the world to HIMSELF, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for CHRIST, as though GOD were pleading through us: we implore you on MESSIAH'S behalf, be reconciled to GOD." [2 Corinthians 5. 17 - 20] Like our BLESSEDMASTER, look for good and encourage with forgiveness.

SPURGEON

Never, never neglect the Word of God.
The Word will make your heart rich with truth, rich with
understanding, and then your conversation, when it flows from
your mouth, will be like your heart-- rich, soothing, and sweet.
Make your heart full of rich, generous love, and then the stream
that flows from your hand will be just as rich and generous as
your heart.

Above all, get Jesus to live in your heart, and then out of your
heart shall flow rivers of living water, more rich, more satisfying
than the water of the well of Sychar of which Jacob drank. Oh!
go, Christian, to the great mine of riches, and cry to the Holy
Spirit to make your heart rich unto salvation. So shall your life
and conversations be a boon to your fellow man; and when they
see you, your face will be like an angel of God. Wise men will
stand up when they see you, and men will give you reverence.

OCTAVIUS WIMSLOW

This Precious Anointing!

(from "The Precious Anointing" by Octavius Winslow)

This holy anointing of the Spirit will impart
clearness to your mind, so that you shall
have a right judgment in all things.

It will impart sweetness to your temper;
gentleness to your spirit, and will give you
a lowly, loving, self condemning heart.

It will make your behavior towards others
more Christlike. It will fill you with charity
and love; the grace of kindness will be in
your heart, and the law of kindness on your lip.

This precious anointing is so soul transforming,
so 'Christ assimilating' in its influence, that it
is impossible to partake of it in any degree and
not be like Jesus.

When you see a religious professor who is....
proud in heart,
lofty in spirit,
covetous in his aims,
condemning others,
justifying himself,
unsympathizing, or
harsh;
you see one who is lacking this anointing.

He is not sitting at the feet of Jesus.

DAVID WILKERSON

A CRY WITHOUT A VOICE
by David Wilkerson
Just before Jesus healed the deaf man in Mark 7, we read, "Looking up to heaven, he sighed" (Mark 7:34). The word for sighhere signifies an audible groan. Evidently, Jesus grimaced and a groan came out of His heart. Of course, the man couldn't hear it, because he was deaf—but what was this groan about?
I have read many commentaries about this scene. Yet none bears witness to what I believe God's Spirit is telling me. I'm convinced Jesus was looking into heaven and communing with the Father. He was quietly weeping in His soul over two things. First, He wept over something that only He could see in this man. And second, He wept over something He sees today, locked in the hearts of so many people, especially the young.
What did Jesus see, both then and now? What was He hearing, both in this deaf man's heart and in the hearts of multitudes today? He was hearing a cry without a voice. He was hearing a cry of the heart, bottled up, unable to be expressed. Now Christ Himself groaned with a cry that could not be uttered. He was giving voice to the cries of all who cannot cry out.
Think of the many nights this deaf man cried himself to sleep because nobody understood him. Not even his mother or father could comprehend what he spoke. How often he tried to explain how he felt, but all that came out were painful, awkward sounds. He must have thought, "If only I could speak, just once. If only my tongue were loosed for a minute, I could tell someone what's going on in my soul. I would scream, 'I'm no dummy. I'm not under a curse. And I'm not running from God. I'm just confused. I've got problems, but nobody can hear them.'"
Yet Jesus heard the thoughts of this frustrated man's heart. He understands every inward groan that cannot be uttered. The Bible says our Lord is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. And He felt the pain of this man's deafness and tongue-tied condition.