The Lord is our Healer - Ex.15:22-26

The children of Israel had experienced the miracle of deliverance from Egypt by passing through the Red Sea on dry land. They began their journey into the wilderness, and in 3 days they were in a crisis. There was no water in the desert. Sometimes we will experience times of great need in our lives. This was a test for them, for God knew there was no water in the wilderness. The only water they found was so bitter they couldn't drink it. It only took 3 days for the Israelites to forget about the God of miracles, and they went in a downward spiral, from need, to disappointment, to complaining, to bitterness. Their experience with God had become bitter, and so they named the place Marah, which means bitter. A revelation was given to Moses that saved their lives. The Lord showed him a tree, which when he cast it into the water, the water was made sweet. There the Lord promised them, that if they would listen to God, and do what He told them to do, that He would keep them in health, and they would not experience the diseases that the Egyptians had, because "I am the Lord who heals you". Some of us need physical healing, but everyone of us needs a healing in our hearts, so that bitterness does not take hold of our lives. Heb. 12:14 says we are to look carefully lest anyone falls short of the grace of God, and a root of bitterness springs up, and by it many become defiled. The battle against bitterness must be won. Our bitterness is turned into sweetness when the power of the cross of Christ is brought into our hearts. His love and forgiveness is the power we need to forgive others, and to heal our hearts of hurts and bitterness.
In contrast to the Israelites experience at Marah, is the instruction we receive from James in chapter 1:2-4. James says that when we fall into great need and trials, that we should consider it as joy! With a positive faith that believes God is a God of miracles, we do not have to go in a downward spiral, but we can exercise our faith, and find joy in the midst of trials. We know that through the trial we will develop patience, and as we watch God work through this trial, our patience will be made complete and we will mature. Many times I have said to my wife during a time of trial, that when we get through this, we will be better people for it. With a positive faith that believes God for miracles, we will develop maturity in God, and we will not be lacking in the joy, and faith, and hope that God wants us to have.

Shaped By The Word

Pro. 22:6 says to train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. But that presupposes that the parent knows how to train the child. How does the parent become prepared to train the child? In Deut. 6:4-9 we have a passage that gives us a look at the Jewish home and the training of children as God desired it. First, the love for God was to be the all consuming desire of each person, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." But that was not all. For the next verse says, "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart." It was necessary that the parents carried the words of God in their heart. Then they could teach them diligently to their children, and talk of them when they sat in their house, when they walked by the way, when they laid down, and when they rose up. These words were to shape the family in all aspects of their life. There was no part untouched by these words. They spoke of them constantly, and applied them to their lives in every facet of life. But that was not all. They were instructed to bind them as a sign on their hand, and between their eyes. Some people literally tied little boxes on their hands and on their foreheads that contained scrolls of Scripture, so that they would have a constant reminder of these words every time they looked at their hand, and everytime they used their eyes, they saw life through the Scriptures. But that was not all. They were to write these words on their doorposts of their houses, and again, on the gates outside their houses. They could not walk through a door without having a reminder from the Scriptures. Their lives were continually shaped by the Scriptures, talking of them, meditating on them, applying them, shaped by them throughout their lives. Will we allow our lives to be so shaped by the Word that we look at every situation in life through the Scriptures?

Cleansing

One of the most valuable truths I learned as a young Christian was how to receive cleansing. 1 John 1:9 became an important verse to me that I went back to many times, as I felt the need for cleansing over and over. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We need to be cleansed, and washed from our sins. Jude 22,23 talks about "hating even the garment stained by the flesh". It is important that we hate sin, and desire to be cleansed from it. I heard a man speak who said that he had gone on a hunting trip for 9 days, and wasn't able to have a bath or shower for the entire time. He said that when he was able to have a shower, it was one of the greatest feelings he had ever had in his life. Jesus was teaching the disciples the need for cleansing when He washed the disciples feet. The washing of the disciples feet in John 13 was more than the need for clean feet. Jesus said, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this." Jesus was showing the disciples the difference between coming to Christ initially to be saved, and learning to walk in cleansing as a follower of Christ. "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." The washing of our hands and feet symbolizes the need for daily cleansing from sin and defilement. The bronze laver of Moses' tabernacle illustrates for us the need for washing of our hands and feet - cleansing of our works and walk. The detailed system of sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament shows us how much we need cleansing. Hebrews chapters 8 - 10 is an explanation of why we need cleansing, and the difference between the Old Testament process and the New Testament solution. "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified," Heb. 10:14. Our perfect standing with God is accomplished by the one offering of the Son of God on the cross. Our standing with God is perfect through Christ. It is finished, and nothing can be added to make our standing any better. However, as we walk in this new salvation, we get defiled, and need to be cleansed. The cleansing agent is the blood of Jesus, as we see in 1 John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." God desires that we walk clean before Him, and He is at work in our lives to bring cleansing and purity into our lives. He desires, "that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." Removing spots and wrinkles requires some scrubbing, and some pressure, and some heat. By submitting to the Holy Spirit's work in us, the cleansing takes place, and we are delivered from the snares and stains of sin, as it tries to take hold in our lives. Let us walk in the cleansing that God has provided for our lives.

Eternal Life

Everything Jesus did was for this reason, to give us eternal life. "God so loved the world...should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16. Jesus knows the importance of eternal life. He came from the place of eternal life, and was going to eternal life. He was the Word, who was with God, and was God. He was the Word, spoken into the womb of Mary, to be manifested to us. Yet He laid aside His rightful glory, and dignity, to become a servant, to be made in the likeness of men. He did not hold onto His equality with God, but laid it aside, that He might humble Himself, unto death, even the death of the cross. He knew where He came from, and He knew where He was going. When He said, "In my Father's house are many mansions, He knew exactly what He was talking about. He was intimately aquainted with heaven. "I go to prepare a place for you..." The preparation that needed to be made was the shedding of His blood, that we also could be given a place in heaven. John tells us that if everything that Jesus did was to be written down, that even the world itself would not be able to hold the books that would be written. We are not told very much about heaven. Only a few verses in Rev. 21 and 22, and not much more. It will take eternity to see all that God has prepared for those that love Him. Everlasting life is what Jesus came to give us. Everlasting death is what Jesus came to deliver us from. Jesus lived in complete awareness of eternity, and the spiritual realm. Jesus knows heaven, and Jesus knows what hell is like. Jesus is the light of heaven, and He is the temple in heaven. He does not want anyone to go to hell, and miss eternal life with the Father. "Lord, open our eyes to live with an awareness of the spiritual world we live in, and of the eternity that we will enter into."

Habits

Our thoughts are what we base our decisions on, and decisions form habits. Something we do regularily becomes a habit. The funny thing about habits, is how the bad ones are so much easier to form than the good ones. I have heard it said, that it takes 21 days to form a good habit, and 3 days to form a bad habit. So making something that is good a part of your everyday life requires a strong desire for that thing, and the discipline to put it into action everyday for at least 21 days. The great thing about a good habit is the cumulative effect. As I have been going to the gym, I find it hard to go every time. It would be so much easier to not go, and when I started, I wondered if my level of fitness would ever improve. But through time, little by little, I am seeing improvement. It is the cumulative effect that makes the difference. It cannot be done all at once or in a hurry. It takes a regular amount of time constantly. Saving money is the same principle. Saving a little regularily adds up over length of time. It is the same spiritually; being faithful in prayer, Bible reading, and spiritual exercise brings maturity, and strength, and knowledge of the ways of God. "Well done, good and faithful servant..." It is faithfulness over the long haul that brings the accumulated blessings of God.

Moving On

The children of Israel were led by a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. Their existence depended on watching the cloud. Their lives were led and directed by the cloud. The cloud was the center of their camp, and the center of their lives. Nothing else was as important to them as the cloud. They moved when the cloud moved, and they stayed when the cloud rested, Ex. 40:36-38. Our lives also need to be centered on the cloud of God's presence. He promised He would lead us by His Spirit. Zech. 4:6 said it was "...not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord." We need to move when the Holy Spirit leads us, and we need to stay when the Holy Spirit says to rest. And so God will lead us into deeper places with Him. Ezek. 47 gives us a vision of a man who was led into a river, first to his ankles, then to his knees, then to his waist, and finally into the river where he could only swim. Jesus invites us to take a step closer to Him as He beckons us. He has treasures of glory, and treasures of wealth for us, but we must follow. He must be the center of our lives. We must keep our eyes on Him. Our heart must hear His still small voice, His gentle moving in our spirit. Our delight must be the meditation of His Word, that captures our attention, both day and night, Ps. 1:1-3. Today, are you moving with Him? What is He saying to your life today?

Cain and Abel

It is amazing to me to read the results of sin entering into the world in Gen. 4. How quickly we see the devastating consequences of sin manifested. Here Cain and Abel both bring an offering to the Lord. Abel's is accepted, and Cain's is not. The message to Cain is, "Sin crouches at the door, and its desire to toward you, but you should master over it." In other words, there are things in your life that you need to deal with, and if you don't, they will deal with you. Cain compared himself with his brother, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got, until he decided that the way to deal with this was to get rid of his brother. He did not stop to consider that he should deal with the things in his own life. He was angry, unhappy, envious, dishonest, lying, deflecting the truth, and shirking his own responsibility. So he eliminated his brother, and thought he had got rid of the problem. But God asked him, "Where is your brother?", to which Cain responded, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" First he lied, for he knew exactly where his brother was, and secondly, he tried to deflect the question by asking another question, as if to say, that is not my responsibility. My brother can do what he wants. Why ask me? But truth would prevail, because the Lord said, "Your brother's blood cries to me from the ground." Truth will prevail, though we decieve ourselves. This is a great story about living in truth, and dealing with the things in our lives privately with God, before those things begin to deal with us publicly. Even a half truth is the same as a whole lie, maybe worse, because a half truth gives the impression that we are telling the truth, when in fact, we are only covering our lie by telling part of the truth. This is a great leadership truth, that God desires truth in our hearts, and we need to ask for cleansing and renewing of our hearts. Psalm 51:6,10-12. Though going through cleansing is painful, the result is very very good!