The one thing essential for us in order that we may receive and impart the forgiving love of God is to know and believe the love that He has to us. Satan is working by every deception he can command, in order that we may not discern that love. He will lead us to think that our mistakes and transgressions have been so grievous that the Lord will not have respect unto our prayers, and will not bless and save us. In ourselves we can see nothing but weakness, nothing to recommend us to God, and Satan tells us that it is of no use; we can not remedy our defects of character. When we try to come to God, the enemy will whisper, It is of no use for you to pray; did not you do that evil thing? Have you not sinned against God, and violated your own conscience? But we may tell the enemy that “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” When we feel that we have sinned, and can not pray, it is then the time to pray. Ashamed we may be, and deeply humbled; but we must pray, and believe…. Forgiveness, reconciliation with God, comes to us, not as a reward for our works, it is not bestowed because of the merit of sinful men, but it is a gift unto us, having in the spotless righteousness of Christ its foundation for bestowal.

We should not try to lessen our guilt by excusing sin. We must accept God’s estimate of sin, and that is heavy indeed. Calvary alone can reveal the terrible enormity of sin. If we had to bear our own guilt, it would crush us. But the sinless One has taken our place, though undeserving, He has borne our iniquity.—Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 115, 116.
With God at Dawn p. 147
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Prayer Requests
—-Please continue to pray for Johanna. She had a pacemaker put in but her blood pressure is still very low. Rose
—-I have to say Praise the Lord! I went for an oral cancer screening today because I had two spots inside my cheek (including ulcers on the back of my throat)that didn’t look good. . . . No cancer and the ulcers are viral. So grateful for having our prayers answered. Sally
—-Please pray that Oliver can regain the use of his left side after an operation for epilepsy. Kim
—-Please pray for Buddy who had a stroke and is in rehab. Kay
—-Report is in on my shoulder. surgery is recommended. I’m dealing with some other issues too so prayers are appreciated. Connie
—-Please pray for Brian as he travels back home and also for Esther, the children, and me as we may be travelling across country to see Ronnie Jay either this week or next. Rose
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Dear Friends,
Over the years, Ron and I have enjoyed canoeing. Our favorite memories seemed to center around Bad Medicine Campground which is on John Bull Lake. We liked to go there the week of my birthday because other than the campground host, we were the only campers, so all was peace and serenity. (An added bonus was the mosquitoes had not yet hatched.) Once during a canoe ride, we had a beaver swim alongside of us, slapping the water with his tail which drenched us. It seemed like he was enjoying Esther’s screams as she got very wet.
We got to see many interesting animal behaviors whenever we camped there such as osprey youngsters peeking over the edge of the nest high above us while the frantic parents were trying desperately to lead us from the nest. On one canoe ride that Ron and the children went on, an eagle and an osprey were fighting above the lake. The one was upside down with his talons pointing upwards, while the other was right-side-up with his talons bared to finish off his opponent. (Sadly, I didn’t go canoeing that time, so I missed the spectacular sight.)
On another canoe ride Ron and I had taken on that same lake, Ron spotted an animal swimming ahead of us. At first we thought it might have been the beaver again. Quietly, he sculled our craft closer to get a better look. We discovered that it was not a beaver. It was a muskrat. Because of Ron’s skill in paddling a canoe, Mr. muskrat didn’t know that we were there. We followed him as he swam to a protected spot along the shoreline. Overhanging tree branches and a dead tree lying parallel with the shoreline made a secluded cove for the muskrat family’s home. From their burrow under the bank, Mrs. Muskrat, along with four or five little ones, emerged and greeted him happily. We sat motionless and watched the proceedings.
Suddenly, another muskrat face appeared at the entrance of their den. This creature spotted us and gave a warning whistle. Instantly our muskrat family disappeared. As we looked at the spot where they had been a moment before, we spotted one baby looking at us with fear-filled eyes. In his fright, he had forgotten where the entrance to his home was and had run in the opposite direction. Realizing that he was discovered, he flattened himself against the shore under an exposed tree root and hoped for the best. We watched to see what he would do. Moments later, one of this terrorized baby’s parents came to the entrance and whistled softly. That terror-stricken youngster did not need a second invitation. Instantly, he made a dive for the burrow.
Just as that little muskrat became confused and disoriented, so we sometimes find ourselves in a similar situation. We have lost our way. Trouble is all around. We know not which way to turn. We are as a sheep who has wandered away from the flock. Our dear Saviour assures us, ”What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” Luke 15:4-7 “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:11-15
Praise God! We have a Good Shepherd, Who left the glories of Heaven, endured all of the hatred that the evil one could heap upon Him, and gave His life for His perishing sheep. What love: what wonderful love! Just as that muskrat parent gave his child direction to his home, so our Loving Father promises, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Isa 30:21; Ps 32:8 Precious promises! We do not have to wander any longer! We do not have to stay confused, disoriented, lost! There is a Way of escape! Our Dear Saviour is the Way the Truth and the Life! John 14:6 We can safely follow His leading!
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.” Jude 24,25
Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/vPxYrpIWgOE/we-shall-be-dead-to-our-sins.html

When in his distress, Jacob laid hold of the Angel, and made supplication with tears, the heavenly Messenger, in order to try his faith, also reminded him of his sin, and endeavored to escape from him. But Jacob would not be turned away. He had learned that God is merciful, and he cast himself upon His mercy. He pointed back to his repentance for his sin, and pleaded for deliverance. As he reviewed his life, he was driven almost to despair; but he held fast the Angel….

Such will be the experience of God’s people in their final struggle with the powers of evil. God will test their faith, their perseverance, their confidence in His power to deliver them. Satan will endeavor to terrify them with the thought that their cases are hopeless…. But remembering the greatness of God’s mercy, and their own sincere repentance, they will plead His promises made through Christ to helpless, repenting sinners. Their faith will not fail because their prayers are not immediately answered. They will lay hold of the strength of God, as Jacob laid hold of the Angel, and the language of their souls will be, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” … So in the time of trouble, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed…. But while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness, they will have no concealed wrongs to reveal. Their sins will have been blotted out by the atoning blood of Christ, and they cannot bring them to remembrance.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 201, 202.
With God at Dawn p. 143
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Prayer Requests
—-please pray for my friends who have covid 19 her husband is in the hospital with it and she is struggling at home with it, God is still in the healing business .. .M.
—-Please pray for Johanna who is in the hospital with dropping heartbeats and blood pressure and chest pain. Please pray for her mother also for comfort and peace. Rose
—-Please pray for my mom and sister. Jesus knows the situation. Jennifer
—-Please pray for two situations in my family’s life that have the potential of not ending well. Buck
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Dear Friends,
When I was ten, my mother, her new husband Eddie, and I often went for a drive in the country. Sometimes, I really enjoyed these outings, but other times my step-father was not very pleasant and made things miserable. On one such occasion, I had become so pre-occupied from the miserable time I was happening, that I was not paying much attention to what I was doing. When I got out of the car, I slammed the door hard in anger and frustration. Unfortunately, my right thumb was in the way. Worse yet, it was right in the latch. Oh! How that hurt! I nearly fainted.
It hurt so much that I did not even think of opening the door. My step-father saw what had happened and yanked open the door which was stuck because of my thumb. Cars were much larger and heavier in the 1950’s, so my thumb was a real mess. He told me to go into a nearby drugstore and see if I the pharmacist could care for it. In those far-off days, pharmacists not only filled prescriptions, they also administered first aid. As I walked to the pharmacy, my legs felt wobbly and my head was spinning because of the pain. When the pharmacist saw my poor thumb, he cleaned it, put some ointment on it, bandaged it, and sent me on my way.
It took a long time for my thumb to heal, but eventually it did. When my thumbnail finally grew back in, it had a heavy line running through it. The nail on one side of the line never wanted to grow quite right, although most of my thumbnail was completely normal. Even though over sixty years have passed, that thumbnail still grows in two sections.
Just as I have a reminder of my temper display on that miserable day, so every sin leaves its scar upon us. Even though we can be forgiven for our sin, still those scars, those consequences remain. We are never quite the same again. Sin weakens us making it easier to sin the next time. How important it is, then, to flee from even the first suggestion of the enemy. James tells us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 Peter adds, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith.” 1 Peter 5:8, 9
Let us pray as did David, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. . . . Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. . . . Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Ps 51:1-13 “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb 12:1, 2
Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/iGSo4HI3ytg/your-sins-will-not-be-mentioned.html

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