The Ultimate Power and Purpose of the Cross

There He...said, If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.' Exodus 15:25-26

Have you ever experienced something that was bitter? I know I have. Bitter experiences are no fun. You want to spit them out of your life like sour milk.

Bitter experiences are just that-bitter-often leaving an unpleasant and even painful residue in our hearts. But because of the cross of Jesus we can be healed.

There is a story from the exodus of Israel from Egypt that gives us the perfect picture of what Jesus has done for us. Right after they had crossed through the Red Sea, they traveled for three days in the wilderness, and after three days they came to a small pond.

As you can imagine, they excitedly went to drink their fill of the water, but when they did they found that the water was bitter. It was so bitter, in fact, that they could not drink it. Instead, they complained to Moses. Moses cried out to God and God answered Moses by showing him a tree.

Then, in the sight of the whole nation, Moses threw the tree into the water and imme-

diately the whole pond was transformed, not so that it was tolerable, not just okay, not just I think I can manage, but so that it was sweet.

And right there in that profound moment, the Lord made a promise to the people that if they followed Him, then He would take away from them everything that made their lives bitter, all the sicknesses and plagues and death that He had brought on the Egyptians.

This is what God has done for us already through the cross of Jesus Christ. He has removed the sickness, the death, and the sin that have plagued us all our lives. He declares over us today, I am the LORD who heals you.

Salvation is not a process and redemption is not a road. It is an event, and either it's happened to you or it hasn't. Either the cross has invaded your life like the tree invaded the pool or it hasn't. Either your life is filled with living water or with bitter water.

Which one is it for you?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I have had a lot of bitterness in my life, but I praise You that You have thrown the reality of the cross into my spirit so that I can be whole. I put my trust in You today. Please make my bitterness sweet!

Amen

High Noon

A woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table... Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.' Matthew 26:7,13

Every story has a focal point, and the focal point of the Bible is the cross.

Every story also has supporting characters and mini-stories that lead up to the climax. Our verses today tell us the story of one of the most important supporting characters in the story of the cross.

This person is Mary, the sister of Lazarus. She came to the dinner party to which Jesus and all His disciples had come, and she brought with her a flask of perfume that represented her life, her dowry, and her identity. She broke open the flask and poured the whole thing out on Jesus' head so that the entire house smelled of the fragrance.

The perfume was all that she had. If she gave it away, wasting it on Jesus, then she was giving away every hope she had of ever getting married, of ever having children. And in those days, husbands and children (sons, specifically) were the ones who provided for the women. Without that flask, Mary was probably stuck with Lazarus for the rest of her life.

None of this was lost on her. She knew what it meant. She knew the full ramifications of her actions that day.

But she didn't care. She had already sold out to Jesus so completely that she knew He was worth such extravagant, fully surrendered worship.

No one else in the room agreed with what she did. Everyone thought it was a waste of her life. That is to say, everyone except for Jesus.

Jesus saw the devotion in Mary's heart that moved her to give her all to Him, and He praised her for it. In fact, He promised that wherever the gospel is preached, her story will be told. Incredible!

Are you like Mary, or are you holding out on God like everyone else in the room? Because if you're not like Mary, then you're missing out.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

You are worthy of me being like Mary, so I choose to have that same heart! I offer up all of my life to You right now. I break it open and pour it out before You, and I invite You to do whatever You want in my life. My life belongs to You!

Amen

What Happens When You Die?

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows...He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5

You are not alone. Everyone else in the whole world has the same fear that you do. You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about death.

Fortunately, because Jesus died for us, our deaths do not have to be the scary thing that the world portrays it to be. There are, however, many misconceptions about death. Here are just a few:

Death is the end. This is not true. Jesus would not have suffered and died and rose again on our behalf if He had not been saving us from something terrible and for something wonderful. People think this one gives them permission to do whatever they want, that they will never have to answer for their actions. Don't be fooled. We will all answer for our actions one day.

If God is a God of love, then He would never send anyone to Hell. You have to understand, God doesn't send anyone to Hell. We send ourselves to Hell when we reject the love that He offers. His death opened the door, now we have to walk through it.

Death is simply a do-over. Reincarnation. Karma. Don't believe it for a second. Jesus certainly did not suffer and die so that we would still have to work our way into a better life the next time around.

Heaven is for good people and Hell is for bad people. I have news for you-Hell is going to be filled with lots of good people, people who were so good they never thought they needed a Savior. Not only that, but Heaven will be filled with lots of bad people who knew they were destined for Hell and looked to Jesus to save them.

There are two lies in common between these misconceptions. They either get people to believe their actions don't matter or that their actions alone determine their afterlife. Both of these lies reject our need for a Savior, and that's where the problem is.

Here's the truth-Heaven is real, and Hell is real. We get one shot at life, and we need Jesus. He suffered and died to pay our way to Heaven because we cannot get there on our own merit.

What Jesus has done for us changes our eternity, but I hope for something more. As you consider what Jesus did for you, how does it change your life right now?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I can hardly believe that You would suffer and die for me the way that You did, but I do believe. I confess that I can never make it on my own and I need You every day! Please come into my life more than ever before and help me live for You.

Amen

For His Name's Sake

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. Psalm 23:1-3

I live in southern California. It's dry here sometimes. If you don't water the lawn, it dies, and sometimes the city doesn't let you water the grass because the people need water more than the plants.

So I can relate with David at least a little when he talks about God making him to lie down in green pastures. I'm sure that, as a shepherd himself, it might be frustrating when you're trying to move your sheep to new grazing land and everything is brown and dead. But this is what we know about life with God as our shepherd-He never gets frustrated by looking for green pastures; He always knows where to find them and then He leads us to those places.

I know that there are people reading this today who feel dry inside. It's like life has been hard for a long time and somewhere along the way, you lost the peace and rest that your soul needs. Maybe it's your job that feels dry, or maybe it's your marriage that feels dry. Whatever it is, the Lord wants to turn those places into green pastures as you turn to Him today, where He promises you to not just make you lie down in green pastures, but to lead you beside still waters.

You know, I think we've become complacent about the quality of water that we drink, where we get our needs met, and what satisfies our deepest longings.

Don't allow just any well to satisfy you, okay? Don't just look for the immediate meter-ofthe-need. Because, a lot of times, what we have chosen for ourselves is some stagnant, polluted, parasite-filled pond, instead of the still, pure, flowing rivers of the water of life that God has for us.

Now listen, these things happen for those who make the Lord their shepherd, for those who follow Him. Are you allowing Him to lead you today? If you're not, then don't be surprised if you feel dry today. If you are, then here is your promise-He restores your soul.

In other words, no matter how you feel today-dry, sad, lost, hopeless, hurt-God promises to restore you if you follow Him. If that's how you feel today, simply ask Him right now to show you His green pastures.

Then follow as He leads.

Prayer Lord God,

Thank You for being a good shepherd who always makes sure that I have all that I need, even restoring my soul! Please show me Your green pastures and still waters today. Help me to live in that place with You and never leave.

Amen

Joel in 3D

So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you...And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:25,28

No matter the summer sun, tropical climate, or length of day, countless people around the world are living in darkness. Maybe you feel like you're one of them.

The darkness I'm talking about looks like loneliness, joylessness, hopelessness, anxiety, and anger. If you have any of these operating in your life, how do you get out? I'll tell you.

First, repent from living one-dimensionally and allow the Lord to fill and rule your life. Don't be caught just living for yourself. Instead, ask Jesus to join you in life and lead you by His light.

Second, return to the Lord. This is a heart issue, making what's important to God important to you and leaving the rest behind.

Third, re-gather, making the study of God's Word in fellowship with other believers a priority in your life. If you're repenting from fellowship with the world and returning to the Lord, you have to have a new place to go-that place is a fellowship of believers.

Fourth, resist the devil. Don't buy into the things the world is trying to sell you, but instead fix your eyes on the things the Lord wants to give you.

Fifth, rejoice, for there's always something to rejoice about no matter what your circumstances are, especially in light of God's gift to us in giving us what we don't deserve. Things might look dark now, but as you follow the Lord, He will turn the darkness to light.

Sixth, restore-this is God's promise to you, that He will restore to you what the enemy has wiped out. As you turn to God, He really does redeem and restore what the devil took from you.

Seventh, receive, because God has promised to pour out His Holy Spirit on you. He has determined to do this, pouring out His very self into you so that you will never be the same again.

And in case you didn't notice, number seven above is way different than number one. God meets us in the darkness the moment we turn to Him, but He never leaves us there, having promised to lead us all the way into fullness of life in His Spirit.

Come trade your darkness for His light today.

Prayer Lord God,

Thank You for being such a good and generous God! I willingly turn to You today and give up the things that have led me into darkness. Please lead me into Your light and fill me with Your Spirit!

Amen

Blind Curves, Hidden Driveways, and Falling Rocks

Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; and you have said in your heart, I am, and there is no one else besides me.' Therefore evil shall come upon you, and you shall not know from where it arises. Isaiah 47:10-11 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. 1 Corinthians 8:2-3

I'm giving you a two-for-one deal today. We're going BOGO on the Bible verses so you feel like you're getting a really good deal.

But seriously, look at these, especially the verse from Isaiah. And evil will come upon you, and you won't even know where it's coming from. Wow. Does anybody want to sign up for that? No way! I want to avoid that. How do you avoid that?

You avoid it by allowing love in your life to overrule your knowledge.

Knowledge matters. Knowledge is important. We should all have this thirst for knowing more about God. But, in that knowledge, love certainly does not go away. No way.

Now, look at the second verse for today. What does that verse mean? It means you don't really know God until you-what?-until you love God.

Well, I know a lot about Him. Yeah, but you really don't until you love Him.

I think the same thing needs to be said for our relationships with each other, as certainly it is here said about a relationship with God. And that love is what was missing in Corinth.

You see, there was an issue going on regarding food offered to idols. The people with knowledge said, Ah, it's no big deal; idols are nothing, really. And they were right, but the problem was that not everyone was so confident on that particular truth. So some believers were eating food that had been sacrificed to idols with no twinge going on in their conscience, but when other believers saw it, it made them stumble.

Paul says, Hey, let's come back to the point. I don't care what you know; I care about whether you love. In other words, what you know and the freedom you want is not as important as your brother or sister in Christ.

What's at the center of your world today-yourself, or love?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for loving me enough to die for me, laying aside all that you had a right to for my sake. As I look to Your example, help me to do the same and show love for the fellow believers around me.

Amen

Better Jobs

Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:1-2

Imagine with me for a moment that you stand before a room full of business owners and you can say anything you want to them, but you only have one sentence to do it. What would you say?

Boil everything down into the most simple, yet powerful thing you could tell them. What could you say to them in that brief moment that would still be worth saying?

Paul did exactly this, and what he told them was, Remember that you have a boss, too. Remember the way that your Boss treats you, then treat your employees the same way. Become a picture to your employees of your Employer so that they will see Him through you.

He followed this simple, transformational business principle up with the most impacting business strategy he could think of-Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

Remember that Paul could speak to business owners from firsthand experience. He had run a business as a tentmaker in Corinth while also planting and pastoring a church (talk about busy!). His experience in business taught him that you need the same things in running a business that you need in running a church-lots of prayer.

And not just prayer from other people, though that is good, too. No, Paul says you have to be the leader in your workplace prayer movement. You continue earnestly in prayer! Then let others join you in that, but the responsibility falls on you first because you are the owner.

Pray for your business. Pray for your employees. Pray for your future business. Pray for your clients. Pray for the atmosphere of your office. Pray for the companies who are your neighbors in your office building. Pray for your customers. Pray for your suppliers. Pray for your competitors.

Pray! And when you pray, pray earnestly. Do not be passive and removed from the circumstances for which you pray. Rather, dive into them wholeheartedly so that you are earnest in your prayers.

Finally, be vigilant in your prayers, not forgetting to be thankful for what God has already given you. Even, I challenge you, be thankful for the things for which you are praying even before God grants your request.

God wants your workplace. Will you follow His Word and invite Him in?

Prayer Lord God,

You are a good and just Master, and I thank You for the way you treat me. Please help me to be earnest and vigilant in praying for my workplace and help me to be the employee/employer You call me to be.

Amen