Zaccheus had been overwhelmed, amazed, and silenced, at the love and condescension of Christ in stooping to him, so unworthy. Now love and loyalty to his new-found Master unseal his lips. He will make public his confession and his repentance….

Before Zaccheus had looked upon the face of Christ, he had begun the work that made him manifest as a true penitent. Before being accused by men, he had confessed his sin. He had yielded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and had begun to carry out the teaching of the words written for ancient Israel as well as for ourselves. The Lord had said long before, … “Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God.” These words had been spoken by Christ Himself when He was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, and the very first response of Zaccheus to the love of Christ was in manifesting compassion toward the poor and suffering…. No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven….

If we have injured others through any unjust business transaction, if we have overreached in trade, … we should confess our wrong, and make restitution as far as lies in our power.—The Desire of Ages, 554-556.
With God at Dawn p. 141
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Meghan who is a young woman with heart problems. Pray that she and her husband will accept Jesus and His truth. M
—-Please pray for my mother who is having health issues. They are doing scans and tests. She is a 2 time cancer survivor. We are afraid it might be cancer again. She has a couple of appointments coming up and she is extremely stressed and having lots of anxiety. Prayers for faith, strength, healing, courage, and peace. Some days are harder than others. Thank you for your prayers. V
—-Please pray for Fran who found out that she needs two or three more years of chemo. Rose
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Dear Friends,
Last week, I had to get a tooth filled. Now we’ve been going to this particular dentist for over twenty years and usually our conversation revolves around how the family is doing. This time, however, we got to talking about the animal video that she has for her patients to watch before the “torture” begins. Soon we were talking about the wild animals we had seen in years past. I told of the wolverine Ronnie Jay and I had seen. She spoke of the moose she had seen while hiking in Colorado when she was young. That brought more moose stories from our experiences. It was a pleasant time of reminiscing.
Someday, we will not have to content ourselves with reminiscing, but we will be able to go right up and pet a moose or a wolverine or even the most ferocious of beasts for they will all be tame. God’s Holy Word gives us a glimpse of this place where all is joy and peace, a place where there is nothing to make us afraid, no sickness, no sorrow, no crying, no death. We read, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. Rev 21:2-4
What a glorious time that will be! Sin and sinners will be no more. All will be the greatest happiness and joy. We will have no fear of any creature for we are told, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.” “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat.” Isa 11:6-8; 65:17-25
Moreover, Isaiah tells us that we “shall see the King in his beauty!” Isa 33:17 We shall behold Him face to face. Think of it! We will be able to sit down with the Great King of the Universe and ask Him why certain things have happened the way they did in our life or in the life of our loved one. We will marvel as He explains the reasons behind every event in our life. Suddenly, our questions and perplexities will vanish away. We will praise Him for His goodness! With hearts overflowing with love, we will worship Him for His guiding hand, for His great love and care!
Paul exclaims, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Cor 2:9 How we are comforted as we meditate upon the Heavenly Kingdom. How our heart longs for our Dear Saviour’s Glorious Home as we imagine the most wonderful blessings, knowing that it will be even grander, even more glorious than our highest thoughts can reach!
Jesus assures us, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3 Praise God! Jesus is coming very soon! Soon He will take us to that beautiful land where we will dwell with Him forevermore!
May we soon dwell in safety in God’s Heavenly Kingdom where we will interact with the animals and have nothing to fear. May we all soon be in that Glorious Land where “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, [where] the lame man [shall] leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” Isa 35:5,6 May we, someday soon, feel our Great Redeemer’s Loving Arm encircle us and with His Mighty Hand gently and lovingly wipe away all our tears is my prayer.
Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/tMY6NHQ8zgs/the-repentance-of-zaccheus.html

Through successive generations, infidels have pointed to the character of David, bearing this dark stain, and have exclaimed in triumph and derision, “This is the man after God’s own heart!” … But the history of David furnishes no countenance to sin. It was when he was walking in the counsel of God, that he was called a man after God’s own heart. When he sinned, this ceased to be true of him until by repentance he had returned to the Lord…. Though David repented of his sin, and was forgiven and accepted by the Lord, he reaped the baleful harvest of the seed he himself had sown. The judgments upon him and upon his house testify to God’s abhorrence of the sin….

God intended the history of David’s fall to serve as a warning that even those whom He has greatly blessed and favored are not to feel secure, and neglect watchfulness and prayer. And thus it has proved to those who in humility have sought to learn the lesson that God designed to teach. From generation to generation, thousands have thus been led to realize their own danger from the tempter’s power…. David’s repentance was sincere and deep. There was no effort to palliate his crime. No desire to escape the judgments threatened, inspired his prayer. But he saw the enormity of his transgression against God; he saw the defilement of his soul; he loathed his sin. It was not for pardon only that he prayed, but for purity of heart.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 722-725
With God at Dawn p. 139
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for David who is depressed and angry. Pray for his deliverance from this. Buck
—-PLEASE PRAY FOR MY SISTER. SHE HAS A HEART CONDITION. PLEASE PRAY FOR COMPLETE HEALING AND REST. Jean
—-Please pray for Israel and the world that God will delay things. Rosemary
—-Please pray for my friend Agnes who is having many life threatening Health issues with kidneys and heart! Ann
—-Please continue to keep Johanna in prayer. Rose
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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 “jump to conclusions” before we really know all of the circumstances. How often we condemn someone before understanding their motives. Our Dear Saviour commands, “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 must not allow sin to run rampant lest others follow their example. 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. Since it is true that when we see a wrong, we should not keep silent, it is equally important that we should to very careful of our own motives and work with that individual in a loving way to help them see the error of their ways and place their feet firmly on the path that leads to Heaven. “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 eye salve 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, too, have strayed; and if so, step back upon the right path; but if not, stand firmly for the right.
Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/mZ919xytYMA/the-repentance-of-david.html

If those who hide and excuse their faults could see how Satan exults over them, how he taunts Christ and holy angels with their course, they would make haste to confess their sins and to put them away. Through defects in the character, Satan works to gain control of the whole mind, and he knows that if these defects are cherished, he will succeed. Therefore he is constantly seeking to deceive the followers of Christ with his fatal sophistry that it is impossible for them to overcome. But Jesus pleads in their behalf His wounded hands, His bruised body; and He declares to all who would follow Him, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” … Let none, then, regard their defects as incurable. God will give faith and grace to overcome them.

We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life, should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching of heart. The light, frivolous spirit indulged by so many professed Christians must be put away. There is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil tendencies that strive for the mastery.—The Great Controversy, 489.
With God at Dawn p. 134
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Prayer Requests
—-I just received an update: my Dad’s aneurism has gone from a 4.6 to 5.5 in size and he now needs surgery and we are under a serious lockdown. His condition is now dangerous. His creatine levels have not decreased, so his kidneys are not good and he’s severely dehydrated. Please continue to pray for him. The aneurism is in a place that if it bursts it will affect his heart. He is truly in God’s hands right now. Whatever his will. Please continue to keep us in prayer. God bless. Shannah
—-Prayers appreciated for our son, Joel who is having open heart surgery May 18th. Astrid
—-Please pray for Libby! She had surgery a few days ago & hasn’t woke up yet. She screams through the night and still can’t wake up. PLEASE PRAY! Kathy
—-prayer request. for Tracy she has a brain bleed has for two weeks. they are watching it. M.
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Dear Friends,
When Ronnie Jay was in college, he lived in a basement apartment rather than in the dorm. On one occasion, he heard of storms and tornadoes in the area, so he stayed up until about three o’clock in the morning to make sure that he could warn Brian and Esther if a tornado was near. His plan was that he would call them and then they would jump in the car and drive the three blocks to Ronnie’s apartment where they would be safe. After all danger was past, he went to bed.
Imagine his surprise when he woke up the next morning to find five inches of water on his floor! The heavy rains from the thunderstorms that had dumped huge amounts of water on already saturated ground. His heart sank as he saw his computer tower and the rest of his possessions standing in that water. Quickly, he went began unplugging all of his electric cords. He felt electric shocks go through his body as he did so, but it had to be done. It was truly a miracle that the water was not electrically charged for he had many items plugged into power strips which lie on the floor.
When Ron went with him to make a claim on his renter’s insurance, the agent told him that flooding was not covered under his policy. Ron chided the man for selling our son, who lives in a basement apartment, a policy without flood insurance and cancelled the policy.
How swiftly our life can be turned upside-down. How quickly all that we have worked so hard for can be ruined. It can be gone in a moment in the blink of an eye. In view of this, Jesus advises, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:19-21
Peter reminds us of a soon-coming event where everyone’s material possessions will be no more. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” 2 Peter 3:10-14
May we look away from the things of this world and keep our focus on Heavenly things. May we make our “calling and election sure,” that we may dwell in the Place where there are no floods, no tornadoes, no more death, pain, or sorrow. 2 Peter 1:10, Rev 21:4 May we all be there is my prayer.
Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/zpFhiRvRREQ/be-not-stiff-necked-but-yield.html