March Devotionals 16-31

Mazzaroth - Aires Mar 21 -April 20

ARIES (The Ram or Lamb). The Lamb that was slain, prepared for the victory.

Aries, the Sacrificial Ram who conquers Cetus, the Sea Dragon and rescues Pisces, the two fish.

Aries the Ram has his front hooves resting over the band that binds the Pisces fishes to Cetus, recalling the prophecy in Genesis 3:15. This sacrificial male lamb represents Christ as the Lamb of God, who died for our sins.

Aries forms a heavenly 4-horned altar with the ram being a symbol of the lambs sacrificed daily as sin offerings in ancient Israel (Genesis 3:15; Exodus 12:21)

Aries represents the Lamb, deliverance realized.

Saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb having been slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and respect and esteem and blessing!” Revelation 5:12

Airies Constellations

March 21 to April 20

1. CASSIOPEIA (The Enthroned Woman). The captive delivered, and preparing for her husband, the Redeemer.

2. CETUS (The Sea Monster). The great enemy bound.

3. PERSEUS (The Breaker). Delivering His redeemed.

March 26

How Then Shall We Accept Death?

“If a man die, shall he live again?” – Job 14:14

On a Sabbath day, Rabbi Meir had gone to the synagogue. While he was there, his two little boys had climbed up a tree and tragically fallen. They were both found dead beneath the tree.

His wife, Beruria, took the corpses to an upper room, covered them with a sheet, and went downstairs to prepare a table for her husband. When he returned home, he said the prescribed prayers, sat down at the table and asked about the children. She answered him, “Well, they are children, what can you expect from them?”

When he had finished eating, she said, “I have to ask you a question. A neighbor gave me a pair of costly earrings to keep for her because her husband was a drunkard, and she feared he might have sold them. Now her husband is dead, and she asked me to give them back . I love them. When you were not at home, I used to ornament myself with them before the mirror. They were one of my joys; should I give them back?”

The Rabbi answered, “I wonder about that question, for it is a difficult one, but I think you should return them, and thank her for the privilege of having them for so long a time.”

Then she said, “Come with me. I wish to show you how beautiful they are.”

She took him to the upper room, drew away the sheet, and said, “These are the gems. We have enjoyed the time with them. Now we must hand them back to their owner with thankfulness.”

He answered with tears in his eyes, “Blessed is a husband with such a wise wife. God has given; God has taken. Let the name of God be praised even in a loss such as this.”

From “Reaching Towards the Heights ”Devotional, by Richard Wurmbrand.

There is nothing in this world we can hold onto, even the lives of those we love. It is only the love of the Lord that is Eternal. Christians all are travelers here, and although each day on this earth is precious, there is someone who has gone home to prepare a place for us long before we took our first breath in this world we have known.

Let us live today like the wife in this story with the fullness of God’s purpose for our lives. Let us bless each other and those we love in their comings, and their goings. For we don’t know what will be required of US this day.

Words to Think About…

<>–Who Plucked that Flower?–<>

There is an inscription on a child’s tombstone in an English churchyard that reads, as follows:

“Who plucked that flower?’ cried the gardener as he walked through the garden. His fellow servant answered, ‘The Master.’ And the gardener held his peace.”

“This night thy soul is required of thee.” (Luke 12:20).

<>–What Would You Say to Five Widows?–<>

“We have proved beyond any doubt that He means what He says His grace is sufficient, Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. We pray that if any, anyone is fearing that the cost of discipleship is too great, that they may be given to glimpse that treasure in heaven promised to all who forsake.”

– Elisabeth Elliot, on behalf of the five widows of slain missionaries to Ecuador, one year after their deaths Jan 7, 1957.

“I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”– King David on the death of his son (2 Samuel 2:23).

Photo Credit: worldwidemuseumguide.com/exhibitions/the-colors-of-heaven-paintings-from-17th-century-paris-churches-at-the-carnavalet-museum-paris/

March 28

When You Want to Know God’s Will in Your Life

“If I have found grace in Thy sight, show me now Thy way that I may know Thee.” – Moses to God – Exodus 33:13

One night the famous Bible teacher F.B. Meyer stood on the deck of a ship approaching land. As they guided the vessel in, he wondered how the crew knew when to safely steer towards the dock. It was a stormy night, and visibility was low. Meyer, standing on the bridge and peering through the window, asked “Captain, “How do you know when to turn this ship into that narrow harbor?”

“That’s an art,” replied the captain. Do you see those three red lights on the shore? When they are all in a straight line, I go right in!”

Later, F.B Meyer wrote, “When we want to know God’s will, there are three things which always need to line up, the inward impulse, the Word of God, and the trend of circumstances. Never act until these three things agree.”

One of the most asked questions today by Christians today is “How do I know God’s will for my life?”

Never doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light. There are certain truths you know to be right that God has shown you in your life, but often when faced with a time of darkness, we doubt these truths. When seeking God’s will for your life, always keep this in mind. The Bible teaches us not to “lean on our own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

This is where most of us get in trouble. Fear often demands that we make sense of everything right now, when God is teaching us something through a personal trial. Many answers are not known until He reveals His purpose at the end of a difficult season. My experience with God is that He likes to work outside of our own understanding as he molds and shapes our lives into the person he created us to be.

I like F.B. Meyer’s advice on seeking God’s will. Examine your inward impulses, seek the Word of God on the subject, and examine the circumstances that are outside of your control to see where your control ends and where His leading begins.

Words to Think About…

<>—KNOWING GOD’S WILL—<>

“I try to gather all the information and all the facts that are involved in a decision, and then weigh them up and pray them over in the Lord’s presence, and trust the Holy Spirit to sway my mind in the direction of God’s will. And God generally guides by presenting reasons to my soul for acting in a certain way.”

– J. Oswald Sanders

The Chinese Christian, Christina Tsai, suffered from a debilitating disease much of her life. In her book, Queen of the Dark Chamber, are written these words,

“Once a great scholar in China said, ‘A sage seeks opportunities in difficulties, and a fool finds difficulties in opportunities.’ We are born to overcome difficulties through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

“There is no sin [unchastity] which will sooner bring about a nation’s fall. If history teaches anything, it teaches that sensual indulgence is the surest way to national ruin. Society, in not condemning this sin, condemns itself.”

– F. B. Meyer

Photo Credit:: Robert Salmon – Ship in Storm – Wikimedia

How Can I Be Saved?

You’ve probably seen John 3:16 posted somewhere on a sign, written on a freeway overpass, at a concert, at a sporting event, or even read to you as a little child. This verse is a simple one. There are 20 monosyllables (single words) in the verse. The Gospel is meant to be simple for everyone!

Be sure of your Salvation. Right now, and pray this simple prayer with a sincere heart...

“Lord, forgive me for my sins. I confess that I am a sinner. Come into my heart and make me the person you created me to be. I receive your gift of pardon through Jesus dying for me on the cross to save me. – Amen”

It was once determined in a court of law that a pardon is only a pardon when it is accepted. There is a true story about a man that refused his pardon. A judge ruled that a pardon is only a pardon when it is accepted. When you prayed that prayer and accepted God’s pardon for your sins, you became a new creation in Christ.

The Bible teaches that you are saved by faith through Jesus. Grow in the Grace that was just given to you, seek God in His word (The Bible) and go out tell somebody!