How to Remove Bitterness

After the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea they became thirsty in the wilderness. They found water at Marah but it was too bitter to drink. The people complained to Moses who prayed to God. The Lord showed Moses a tree and when Moses threw it into the water the water became sweet (Exodus 15:22-25). The tree is a type of the cross. God here is foreshadowing the power of the cross to remove bitterness.

It is certainly true that the cross removes bitterness from eternity. Jesus described the rich man in Luke 16 tormented in the flame longing for just a drop of water from the tip of Lazarus's finger. What a dramatic contrast to those who through the power of the cross enter the New Jerusalem where the water of life in a pure river, clear as crystal, proceeds from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1).

Not only does the cross remove bitterness from eternity, the cross also removes bitterness from this life. And since this event is after the Red Sea experince, a type of salvation, perhaps this is the best way to understand this passage. Life can get polluted with opinions, convictions, expectations, traditions, likes and dislikes. These impurities can rob us of joy when things don't go the way we want. The unpleasant result is bitterness. The solution is the cross where we die to our values, persuasions, comfort, and sense of right and wrong. 

Are you cross-eyed?

Place the cross between you and every frustration. Don't focus on the problem, focus on your cross. As you become "cross-eyed" life's bitterness passes and life becomes sweet again. 

The cross of Jesus Christ is two-sided. One side is for Jesus and the other is for His followers. Jesus died to take away our bitterness and give us a sweet eternity. We also must die on the cross in order to overcome life's bitterness and enjoy a sweet life now.

Will You Take Up Your Cross Today?

Following Jesus is not for everyone. All are welcome, but few are willing to make the necessary sacrifice. Jesus carried a cross and all genuine Christ-followers must do the same. 

Jesus said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). What exactly is the cross? 

1. THE CROSS IS VOLUNTARY: The cross is not when something bad happens to you (sickness, unemployment, etc). The cross is when you choose of your own free will to die to something. There is nothing passive about the cross, it is an active choice. 
2. THE CROSS IS PERSONAL: Each disciple must take up "his cross." What God is asking of you and me is different. We each have our own struggles and temptations to moritify. 
3. THE CROSS IS DAILY: How much easier Christianity would be if we only had to die to self once; but, following Jesus is a daily, moment by moment reality. Jesus said we have to voluntarily take up our personal cross everyday and choose to follow Him. This is the way of the Christian. 

The Apostle Paul taught these same truths in Romans 12:1. Our sacrifice to God is to be

PERSONAL: "I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God"

VOLUNTARY: "that you present your bodies"

DAILY: "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God."

He's Indescribable

God is too big to describe. Often scripture piles words on top of one another to try to bring the full understanding. For example, Psalm 46:1 says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

• God is a help
• God is a present help
• God is a very present help in trouble

The Psalmist couldn't describe the greatness of God, can you?

Higher and Deeper with God through Worship

Moses went up on Mount Sinai and received both the Ten Commandments and the blueprints for the tabernacle. In so doing God gave both the law for man's obedience and grace for man's failure, for the tabernacle is a type of Jesus. The tabernacle, layed out in the shape of a cross, is how one draws near to God for forgiveness and restoration.

The first item the worshipper saw was the multi-colored gate. Blue is the color of heaven, purple is the color of royalty, and red is the color of blood. This of course showing that Jesus is a king who came from heaven and shed His blood for us. 

Jesus said, "I am the door." The only way into the tabernacle was to pass through this entrance. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

One of the truly great worshippers in the Bible King David explains how to pass through this doorway. "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name" (Psalm 100:4).

Now in a very practical way, if you want to go deeper with God, begin in this manner. Observe these three acts of worship. 

1. BE THANKFUL TO HIM. Look around and identify your many blessings. Don't just be thankful for the gifts, but be thankful to God for those gifts.
2. PRAISE HIM. Thankfulness is primarily for visible things, yet praise is for the invisible traits of God grasped by faith. Take a few moments to tell God how marvelous He is, enumerate His many wonderful qualities (true, kind, merciful, faithful, holy, forgiving, unchanging, faithful, good, almighty, etc).
3. BLESS HIS NAME. In the Bible, names do more than identify, names express quality and nature. Thus, the names of God tell us about the essence of God. He is Father, Savior, Shepherd, King, Ancient of Days, Master, Emmanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Man of Sorrows, Captain of our salvation, Jehovah-Jireh (the Lord who provides), Comforter, Prince of Peace, I AM, etc.

Get started today in your journey toward God with thanksgiving and praise.

Honoring Law Enforcement

Jack Moore, pastor of First Baptist Church Fisherville TN, gave this timely message. Based on Romans 13:1-7,

1. Everyone is to obey the authorities, 1a
2. God has appointed all authorities, 1b
3. To resist the authorities is to resist God, 2a
4. Resisting authority brings judgment, 2b-4
5. Chrisitans should set the example, 5-7

And if we don't honor law enforcement, Dr. Jerry Vines warns

• We will have anarchy in the culture
• We will have apostacy in the church.

The Process of Making Disciples

Here are four timeless truths about disciple-making based on the example of Jesus in Matthew 4:18-22.

1. A disciple follows Jesus - "Follow Me"
2. A disciple is formed by Jesus - "I will make you"
3. A disciple is focused on others - "fishers of men"
4. A disciple forsakes everything - the first disciples left their nets, boat, and father

Source: Robby Gallaty

12 Questions to Ask when Reading the Bible

Dwight L. Moody said, "The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation." Ask yourself these questions when you read the Bible.

1. What blessing should I thank God for?

2 What trait of God should I praise?

3. What picture of Jesus should I adore?

4. What name of God should I honor?

5. What bad example should I avoid?

6. What sin should I confess?

7. What command should I obey?

8. What good example should I imitate?

9. What promise should I personalize?

10. What principle should I practice? 

11. What truth should I accept?

12. What ideal should I pray for?

For further study: Ephesians 5:26, James 1:23, John 17:17, Hebrews 4:12, John 15:3, and Isaiah 55:10-11.

Living in the Divine Flow

When the Lewis and Clark Expedition left St. Louis in 1804 it took them a year-and-a-half to make it to the Pacific Ocean, yet when they returned in 1806 the trip only took six months. Why? Sociologically, it is always more fun to go home. And, scientifically, paddling with the current, rather than against it, is certainly easier. 

As I reflect on my life and ministry I confess there have been times when it felt like I was paddling against the current. Ministry was difficult and slow. No fun. However, thankfully, there have been times in my life and ministry when things progressed easily and rapidly. I was moving with the divine flow and it felt good.

What is the divine flow and how does one live in it?

Paul explained that ministry should be "of Him, through Him, and to Him" (Romans 11:36).

I. OUR MINISTRY MUST BE OF HIM

There is a big difference between a good idea and a God-idea. Instead of thinking up ministry ideas or copying someone else's ministry, let God guide you. 

II. OUR MINISTRY MUST BE THROUGH HIM

Never try to accomplish ministry in your human power, instead let the wind of God's Spirit fill you sails. Stop trying and start trusting. 

III. OUR MINISTRY MUST BE TO HIM

The reason we do ministry is not to win the acclaim of others. Our motive for ministry is to bring praise and honor to Jesus Christ. In fact, that is the only kind of ministry God blesses. 

Bob Sorrell, long-time associate of Adrian Rogers, says, "A vision is a word from God and a work of God." Then quoting his mentor Dr. Rogers he adds, "What starts in heaven, ends in heaven."

In life and ministry we only have two choices. We can do it our way or God's way. Our way is slow. His way tends to be much smoother. Be very sure your ministry is "of Him, through Him, and to Him!"

Don't Miss the Obvious

Recently our daughter went on a mission trip to South Africa. Before returning home, they visited an animal reserve and went on a safari. She took some photographs which she later showed her mother and I.

"Do you see the lion?" she asked. I only saw animals in the distant background. Then after a moment of studying the photo, I saw the lion in the foreground. It's amazing how it blended into the foliage. I saw but I didn't perceive.

When the infant Jesus was taken up to the temple Simeon perceived and worshipped, the others did not. The Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, and Levis were close enough to reach out and touch the Baby, but they failed to recognize the Christ Child (Luke 2:25-31).

When Jesus earthly life was almost finished, a voice boomed forth from the skies. Jesus heard and understood what the Father was saying, but others thought it was thunder. They heard, but didn't understand (John 12:23-29).

Are we perceiving and understanding? Are we seeing what is right in front of our eyes? We need to think deeply and not ignore the obvious (Genesis 37:11, Luke 2:19 & 51, Matthew 13:10-16, Hebrews 2:1).

Religion and Politics in Prophecy

In a recent post entitled, "Look up and Lift up your Heads," I wrote about some of the signs to look for prior to Christ's return (signs in the sky, signs on land, and signs in the ocean).

When natural disasters such as the aforementioned occur people tend to look for relief in religion or politics. They cry out, "God help us" or "Governement help us." Therefore, these two arenas are prophetically significant and merit close attention.

Keep an eye on politics (wars, revived Roman empire, seven year treaty with Israel, destruction of Babylon the great harlot, Antichrist, mark of the beast).

Keep an eye on religion (false Christs, False Prophet, one world religion, rebuilding of Jewish temple, abomination of desolation, apostasy, persecution, global missions).

The Bible says no man knows the day nor hour of Christ's return (Matt. 24:36). But by monitoring religion and politics we can discern the times and seasons (1 Thess. 5:1-5).