"Jesus said,
"Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." (John 5:8)
Hey Gang:
Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a desert experience? I have always enjoyed going back to Jamie
Buckingham's book, A Way Through the
Wilderness, when I find myself confined to a pallet and seemingly do not
have the strength to "Take it up and walk".
Jamie loved the Sinai and spent many days
walking from one end to the other. He
always had a Bedouin at his side to teach him the secrets of the desert. Such things as trap door spiders, the dangers
of wadies, that the desert had no favorites, it would take your life if you
failed to respect its hidden powers; Learning
comes by struggling and being overcomers. .
Jamie tells the story of the Springs at Marah. The Israelites were a grumbling sort of
folks. I certainly do not put them down
for that, for they did indeed live under some very tough circumstances. But then again, one might wonder if they
could not have been more civil after seeing the ten plagues that set them free
from the bondage of Egypt - the parting of the sea that saved their lives.
When looking
at a map, one wonders why Moses choose to take the southern route from
Egypt to the land of 'milk and honey".
The Northern route was much shorter and there was fresh water wells
along the Northern Route- sufficient to provide for the mega people and their
livestock.
The biblical account was stark and vivid. They had a problem! They went three days into
the desert and were out of water, and the waters of Marah were to bitter to drink!
Why Lord?
Why would you place this humongous conglomerate of people in such peril? Have you learned yet that when the alligators
are neck deep, God has a plan. Notice:
God said He would not allow the Egyptian
diseases to afflict them, "if"
(there is that nasty word again) they would obey.
If they would have drunk of the waters of
Marah their bodies would have adjusted to the waters in a matter of days. The laxative affect would have ceased, but
not until all the parasites and death dealing germs had been removed. These
they had acquired as mud stompers in the mud pits of the Nile.
There was magnesium and calcium that formed
into dolomite, a muscle control drug used by long distance runners to prevent
cramping in hot weather. Also taken by
heart patients to keep the heart muscle from going into fibrillation. The water would have prepared their bodies
for their forty-year saunter through the Sinai.
Soooo, good buddies, what am I trying to say
to you this morning. I just celebrated
my 79th year on this earth and can attest to the fact that I have encountered
many Marahs in my life. But now hear me,
I have also found that God has a tree nearby that will solve my walk through
the desert. He had a tree for the
children at Marah, and he had a tree a Calvary for all those who call on His
name and surrender their lives to His keeping,- He has a tree for you this
morning..
Are you dealing with bitter waters this
morning? If so look around, God has a
tree nearby.
Blessings,
Gramps
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