Song of Solomon 1:14 My beloved is to me as a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En Gedi.
En Gedi is a nature reserve about 40 minutes from our home in Israel. Surrounded by dry, barren, rocky ground, except to the east where the Dead Sea lies, it is an oasis, fed year-round by springs of freshwater, and home to some of the most unique wild and botanical life in the world.
In the Song of Solomon, the King likens his beloved to flowers in the desert, his experience of En Gedi, evoking the dramatic contrast between a harsh and arid landscape and the exquisite refreshing floral beauty of an oasis. Such was Solomon's experience of romantic love, perhaps with the Queen of Sheba.
Now you may feel like you’re walking through a desert -- wandering in a wilderness...thirsty, and perhaps, longing for love...
Seek the Lord your God. His Presence is an eternal spring and a perpetual oasis in this arid world, and His love is better than the most desirable romantic experience you could hope for. It's a love that flows from an eternal spring, Yeshua (Jesus), Himself, and its sweetness and power will cause flowers to bloom throughout your dry and barren life.
Drink from the spring of life, your beloved, Yeshua – He will fill you to overflowing and make you, yourself, a living spring...for this thirsty, love-starved world.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]When I was growing up in the 1980's we had a rotary dial phone. You put your finger in a numbered spot on a circular dialer which clicked as it returned to its place and registered the 7 or 10 numbers you selected. It took a full 10 to 20 seconds to complete a call and was really annoying if the number had a lot of 8s or 9s! Then came touch-tone phones...
When Elianna was two years old, we wrote this devotional fifteen years ago that I believe is relevant especially as we celebrated Father's day around the world.
We have a cord-free, battery-free alarm clock -- we call her Elianna. Like clockwork, at 6:45 each morning our 2-year old daughter, Elianna wakes up and begins calling for us to come and greet her good morning. At this point, my wife and I have come to the conclusion that those 8-hour sleep nights we used to enjoy just aren't going to happen again --at least for a long, long time.
Just a few weeks prior to this incident, the disciples were trembling for their lives as their Lord was arrested and then crucified. They had all fled in the Garden of Gethsemane and then Peter, whose boldness was legendary, had denied him three times. The fact that they had been serving with Yeshua (Jesus) for three years, witnessing many miracles, including Peter’s amazing walk on the water…
While John warned against deception in the last days, and we should be mindful and discerning the times in which we live, keenly aware of the rise of the spirit of Antichrist -- he also gave us encouragement: "...you have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
1 Corinthians 10:5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Numbers 14:21-24 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord-- ...
There were times that Yeshua (Jesus) separated himself from the multitudes -- and there are times when we need to separate ourselves from our lives and ministry, and spend some time with our Lord.
Hudson Taylor was scheduled to speak at a Large Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia. The moderator of the service introduced him in the most eloquent and glowing terms. He told the large congregation all that Taylor had accomplished in China, and then presented him as “our illustrious guest.” Taylor stood quietly for a moment, and then opened his message by saying, “Dear friends, I am the little servant of an illustrious Master.”