Be Reconciled !                                                                             04-03-15

Matthew 5:24 (NASB) ²⁴  leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

I am not a devotional person. I have never read a devotional in my life. That being said, a couple of weeks ago I purchased my first devotional and will read it through for a year. So, here I am this morning, reading the devotional for the day. It was good and I closed it up and started to move on. Next thing I knew I had knocked the book off the table. So I bent down to pick it up and noticed it was turned to a page in January. I had not read that part of the book as I had not purchased the book until March. I glanced at the page and noticed in big black words the title"Be Reconciled!" It caught my attention and I read the entire daily devotion. It spoke mightily to my heart. In about an hour and a half, we will usher in as a memorial, the day that the greatest act of reconciliation in human history began to unfold. Passover is my favorite Jewish Holiday. The feast is dripping with symbolism and typology. To watch or read a Passover service just blows my mind because of the way Jesus is presented and yet He remains hidden to the Jewish nation as a whole by and large. At any rate, this devotional hit the mark for me today. As I thought about the price that my Lord and King paid on this day some 2000 + years ago for my RECONCILIATION! I will reprint(or type lol) that article verbatim here today. I hope that this daily devotional ministers to you as much as it did to me.It is from the "Experiencing God Day By Day" devotional, dated January 17.

                                                       Be Reconciled!

It is useless to give offerings to God while you are at enmity with your brother.Jesus said that His followers should be reconciled with anyone who has something against them. The world seeks reconciliation on limited terms.Christians are to be reconciled, whatever it takes.

You say, "But you don't know how deeply he hurt me! It's unreasonable to ask me to restore our relationship." Or," I tried but she would not be appeased." Jesus did not include an exception clause for our reconciliation. If the person is an enemy, Jesus said to love him(Matt.5:44) If he persecutes you, you are to pray for him(v.44)  If she publicly humiliates you, you are not to retaliate(v.39) If someone takes advantage of you, you are to give even more than he asks(v41) The world preaches"Assert yourself." Jesus taught, "Deny yourself." The world warns that you will be constantly exploited. Jesus' concern was not that His disciples be treated fairly but that they show unconditional love to others regardless of how they are treated. Men spat upon Jesus and nailed Him to a cross. His response was our model: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing"(Luke 23:34)

If there were ever a command that is constantly disobeyed,it is this mandate to be reconciled.We comfort ourselves with the thought, "God Knows that I tried to make things right, but my enemy refused." God's Word does not say "Try to be reconciled," but "Be reconciled." Is there someone with whom you need to make peace? Then do what God tells you to do.

God Bless