The Place of Marah – Bitterness – there is a stick!

Healing from the poison of bitterness…

Read with me, if you will, these passages of Scripture:

Ex 15:23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

Some have said, that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.

Here, we read the account of the bitter waters made sweet, after God showed them a tree, and told them to cast it into the bitter waters, and the bitter waters became sweet.

Ever been broken, battered, shattered, and poisoned by betrayal: bitter?

I have. Seems to whom much is given, much is required, and true ministry comes out of a pure heart. Satan knows this, and it seems that when the call upon an persons life is large, so are the betrayals and heartbreaks that cause one to know Jesus in the depths of His suffering: His love goes deeper than our deepest pain.

Have you been betrayed?

Jesus knows and understands.

When you cry out to God, He will show you a tree, that we all must find at some point in our life: The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The cross: God’s way of uniting suffering with love.

Georgia Harkness.

Here, where God the Son, laid His own life upon the alter, we call the cross, we discover the divine exchange. He took our pain, our sin, our shame, our punishment, and somehow, supernaturally, as we look upon this tree, and that cross get’s thrown into the bitter waters of our pain and lives, the bitter waters become sweet.

We see this illustration again in the book of Numbers, where a plague had broken in upon the people, and they were dying.

Nu 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

Nu 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

There is healing and purification through the cross of Jesus Christ.

Again, when we look upon the cross of Jesus, with the eye of faith, we find healing. It is this account that we see the medical symbol derived, a serpent on a pole symbolizing healing…

All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.

Oswald Chambers.

Today, I want to pray for you, out of my own need. I have come out of a deep dark season in my life, where their have been many times in the past years places where I despaired of even life itself. Deep betrayals, brokeness, and helplessness, as circumstances in my life, threatened to literally choke the life of God from me.

Yet, I have found the cross of Jesus. An exchange has been made. My pain, for His victory. My sorrow, for His joy. The death of my dreams, for the resurrection power of the living Christ.

Truly, it is a divine exchange. It is a miracle, wrought once again, in a human heart, in this case, mine.

Question: How has He set you free from your bitterness…? it would be good to hear your testimony!

Let’s pray:

‘Father, even now my heart feels like hamburger, as I walk forward faithfully to what you have called me to do, emerging from circumstances that have been humanly impossible without your grace, strength, and you revelation to look upon a tree, the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. Now Father, reveal this tree to those reading this tonight. Do what only you can do, throw that tree into the waters of their bitterness, and make their lives sweet, as you bring again, life out of death, in the mighty and matchless power and name of my Lord Jesus, I pray, Amen!’

 https://chrisaomministries.com/2016/08/06/the-purpose-of-this-blog/

 

Forget it!

Forget it!

Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was reminded one day of a vicious deed that someone had done to her years before. But she acted as if she had never even heard of the incident. “Don’t you remember it?” her friend asked. “No,” came Barton’s reply, “I distinctly remember forgetting it.”

At this Christmas time, how well bitter waters would love to flow.

As families get together, and old friendships are renewed, how easy it is to remember past hurts, injustices, and wickedness that occurred, often years before. Time does not heal old wounds, forgiveness, prayer, and the love of God will.

You need to let some things go. You must forgive, and release those who betrayed you, It is time to move on. That was then, this is now. Let it go. There is joy and peace in it for you, even if they have not changed, and are still into the foolish wickedness that they did to you. Don’t become a door mat, and allow them to do it again, but don’t hold them hostage in your mind either, it only poisons you.

Let’s pray:
‘Father, I forgive my friends and family for all of their wickedness against me. I choose to forget what they did to me, and to move on. Cleanse me, heal me, wash me from the filth of this, and deliver me from bitterness, in your name I pray Lord Jesus,Amen’

The Place of Marah – Bitterness

Healing from the poison of bitterness…

Ex 15:23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

Some have said, that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.

Here, we read the account of the bitter waters made sweet, after God showed them a tree, and told them to cast it into the bitter waters, and the bitter waters became sweet.

Ever been broken, battered, shattered, and poisoned by betrayal: bitter?

I have. Seems to whom much is given, much is required, and true ministry comes out of a pure heart. Satan knows this, and it seems that when the call upon an persons life is large, so are the betrayals and heartbreaks that cause one to know Jesus in the depths of His suffering: His love goes deeper than our deepest pain.

Have you been betrayed? Jesus knows and understands.

When you cry out to God, He will show you a tree, that we all must find at some point in our life: The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The cross: God’s way of uniting suffering with love.
Georgia Harkness.

Here, where God the Son, laid His own life upon the alter, we call the cross, we discover the divine exchange. He took our pain, our sin, our shame, our punishment, and somehow, supernaturally, as we look upon this tree, and that cross get’s thrown into the bitter waters of our pain and lives, the bitter waters become sweet.

We see this illustration again in the book of Numbers, where a plague had broken in upon the people, and they were dying.

Nu 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Nu 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

There is healing and purification through the cross of Jesus Christ.

Again, when we look upon the cross of Jesus, with the eye of faith, we find healing. It is this account that we see the medical symbol derived, a serpent on a pole symbolizing healing…

All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.
Oswald Chambers.

Today, I want to pray for you, out of my own need. I have come out of a deep dark season in my life, where their have been many times in the past years places where I despaired of even life itself. Deep betrayals, brokeness, and helplessness, as circumstances in my life, threatened to literally choke the life of God from me.

Yet, I have found the cross of Jesus. An exchange has been made. My pain, for His victory. My sorrow, for His joy. The death of my dreams, for the resurrection power of the living Christ.

Truly, it is a divine exchange. It is a miracle, wrought once again, in a human heart, in this case, mine.

Question: How has He set you free from your bitterness…? it would be good to hear your testimony!

Let’s pray:
‘Father, even now my heart feels like hamburger, as I walk forward faithfully to what you have called me to do, emerging from circumstances that have been humanly impossible without your grace, strength, and you revelation to look upon a tree, the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. Now Father, reveal this tree to those reading this tonight. Do what only you can do, throw that tree into the waters of their bitterness, and make their lives sweet, as you bring again, life out of death, in the mighty and matchless power and name of my Lord Jesus, I pray, Amen!’

 

Forgive – Forgiveness, the lost art….

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Forgiveness

Some years ago, I taught a 26 lesson course on the Lord’s prayer I entitled, ‘Foundations’. We talked about Spiritual Warfare, and knowing thy enemy.Yet remember the Lords prayer:

“‘Our Father who art in heaven in heaven, hallowed be your name,

 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

 

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and glory, forever and ever.

We spent many weeks learning who our heavenly Father is. We spent several weeks discovering Redemptive Realities, and what your daily bread is, as a child of God.

Understanding forgiveness is something so fundamental, and important to your success in this life, that all of eternity is hinged upon it.

Our topic today is forgiveness. Without forgiveness, none of us can approach our holy God.

We understand that Jesus died to provide for us access to the throne of God, it is because we are forgiven, that we must forgive. Read with me if you will, this passage of Scripture.

(Mat 18:21 NIV)  Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

(Mat 18:22 NIV)  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

(Mat 18:23 NIV)  “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

Who is this king?

Why king Jesus of course.

(Mat 18:24 NIV)  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.

Like this man, all of us owe a debt to God, we can never repay. No, all the good works in the world will not cover up even one sin, for God can tolerate no evil in His presence. Yet, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from the deepest evil we can imagine.

(Mat 18:25 NIV)  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

(Mat 18:26 NIV)  “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

Each of us have found ourselves in this place. On our knees before the judge of all judges, the king of all kings, pleading for our very life. Asking for mercy, simply because we suspect He is a good God, that He might forgive us.

(Mat 18:27 NIV)  The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

Sure enough, we see the heart of our loving savior and merciful lord here. Each of us have found mercy in the sight of our God, and had our sins forgiven, and have been released from every debt.

Whom God has justified, what man shall condemn?

(Mat 18:28 NIV)  “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

Yet, look at the behaviour of this wicked servant. He did not understand the magnitude of what had been done for him. His lord had forgiven him, as an act of benevolence unparalleled in all of history. This man had been forgiven, yet had not forgiven himself yet. He did not grasp the purpose of his being forgiven. Having received mercy, we are to show mercy for it is written:

(Mat 5:7 NIV)  Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Yet, how many of us are like this man, having obtained mercy from God, yet unable to let go those who owe us something. Especially if there is money involved. We cannot serve God and money. Let’s continue reading this story.

(Mat 18:29 NIV)  “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

(Mat 18:30 NIV)  “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

(Mat 18:31 NIV)  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

Notice here who told on this wicked servant. Other servants. When a Christian chooses to sin, other Christians are well within their rights to take their case before God, our heavenly king.

(Mat 18:32 NIV)  “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.

(Mat 18:33 NIV)  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’

(Mat 18:34 NIV)  In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

I want you to see this. Unforgiveness will produce torment in your life. When you choose not to forgive, you go into bondage. You get turned over to the tormenters.

(Mat 18:35 NIV)  “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

You must see this, not only did this wicked servant get delivered over to the torturers because of his unwillingness to forgive another, but it looks like the man who owed him also went with him. Your unforgiveness not only will put you in bondage, but puts the one you hate into bondage with you.

If they get right with God, they will go free, but you will stay in torment. Why,? Because your unforgiveness is a sin against God, and God will hold you accountable for it.

In fact, you can eventually end up in hell over it.

Let reread this passage from Matt 6, where Jesus gives us the Lord’s prayer.

9  “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

We are commanded to forgive others. If we will not, God will not forgive us. Forgiveness is an act of our will. Not matter what they did to you, you must obey God and forgive them. God will deal with them on your behalf, only after you forgive.

Just to Show you how important forgiveness is to God, I’ve listed some verses on it below.

Forgiveness:

(Mat 26:28 NIV)  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

To forgive you cost Jesus His very blood.

(Luke 1:77 NIV)  to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,

(Luke 24:47 NIV)  and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

(Acts 2:38 NIV)  Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

It is only after you are forgiven, that you can receive the Holy Spirit.

(Acts 5:31 NIV)  God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

(Acts 10:43 NIV)  All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

(Acts 13:38 NIV)  “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

(Acts 26:18 NIV)  to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
(Eph 1:7 NIV)  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

(Col 1:14 NIV)  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

(Heb 9:22 NIV)  In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Luke 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

There is no other religion on the face of the planet that can give the guarantee Jesus gives. If we accept His sacrifice on the cross on our behalf, we are forgiven of our sins, before a Holy God.

Notice that these verses above deal mainly with our forgiveness before God. Yet, He commands us to forgive.

Col 3:13  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Matt 6,

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

14  For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

• But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Mark 11

22  “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.

23  “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

24  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

• And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

We believe the faith message on purpose. Yet, faith worketh by love. Forgiveness is part of our love walk. This verse is standard faith food. Notice that our unforgiveness will hinder God from answering our prayers.

Luke 6

37  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

• Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Luke 17:1  Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.

2  It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.

3  So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

4  If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

5  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

• He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Bitter-Root Judgements and Expectancies

What you believe determines what you have, and who you are. If you, deep within yourself, know God loves you, then you believe that something good is going to happen to you, and you are an optimist. These people are great to be around because no matter what happens, they are always looking for a solution, and finding it. Yet, the negative is also true, if you, deep down, believe you are a nothing, a nobody, and that bad things are always happening to you, well, except for the grace of God, that’s all you will ever experience in life. Yet  “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Heb 4:12. The good news is that God does heart surgery on us to change the way we view ourselves, and the way we think.

Let’s look for a minute on how these negative thought patterns can control us. Let’s say you had a rough childhood, and no matter how hard you tried, people bigger than you beat you up, or mistreated you. If you don’t know God, you don’t know enough to forgive them, and to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”, as Jesus teaches us in Matt 5:44. So, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, this pattern develops in your life. People hurt you. You judge them, and the very thing you judge them for begins to come back upon you for it is written, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matt 7:1. This is not some theological premise, but rather, spiritual law. When you judge another, the judgement you give them comes back on you. The problem is, if the process of them hurting you goes on long enough, you become bitter, and deep within yourself you develop what is called a bitter-root expectancy. Rage. That is why the Scripture says: “ See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” Heb 12:15. This root within you expects the worst to happen to you, often subconsciously. Well, these are easy to discover in your life, because you simply have to look at the patterns of negative behavior that seem to continue. The way of escape is the same. Forgive all those that have hurt you, and decide to kill this negative cycle in your life. How? By putting it to death on the cross with Jesus. When He died, it died, and you get to go free. Heart surgery. Free on the inside.

Ex 15:23  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. (Marah means ‘bitter’ in Hebrew)

24  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

25  And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

26  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

See this in the Old Testament. They came to a place of bitter waters. Moses cried out to God for help. God showed him a tree ( a shadow and type of the cross), that made bitter waters sweet, and God revealed Himself here as Jehovah Rapha, the Great Physician, the Lord that healeth us. God cares about the pain people inflicted on you, but you have only one choice as a Christian, and that is to get healed.

Hebrews 12:15

looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

10  If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven–if there was anything to forgive–I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake

in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:11

lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices

One of the tricks, traps, and snares of satan is to get a person to hold a grudge, that he might have God Himself deliver that person over to his tormentors!

Jesus did it, as a man operating in the authority of a man under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, in his earthly ministry.

You can too. Why? Priests in the Old Testament offered up sacrifices for sins.

(1 Pet 2:9 NIV)  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

It is part of the high priestly ministry of Jesus, and you are part of his body, an ambassador, acting on his behalf in the earth. You act like he would act if He were here in the flesh. Would He forgive? So should you, for He has given you legal authority to act on His behalf. As He was, so are we in the earth.

Luke 5

17  One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.

18  Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.

19  When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

20  When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

21  The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22  Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

23  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

24  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . .” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

25  Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.

• Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

There will be times in our lives that we will ask God to forgive people their sins, and He will hear, and will forgive them on our account.

Today, I give you a homework assignment (5 Questions)

1. Come clean with God. Ask Him to show you all the things you’ve done that offend him, and ask Him to forgive you.

2.         Come clean with others. Ask God to show you all the people who have hurt you, and forgive them. I had to make a 21 page list, forgive them, then burn the list

3.          Come clean with yourself. Ask God to show you all the areas of your life where you are beating yourself up, and forgive yourself

4.      Ask God to show you any bitter-root judgements and expectancies you have made, and that are still operating in your life. By faith, kill them, by placing them on the cross where Jesus died for you. If they seek to operate again in your life, recognize them, and stand against them. Determine to be the best person you can possibly be.

5. Ask God to show you other people that are caught in this trap, and pray for them. There will be healing in it for you. (Job 42:10 NIV) After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.

• But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

In the KJV this verse says the Holy Spirit will bring all things to you remembrance that I have taught you.

God will help you with this.

A Shark Story

When I was young and full of fire, living for adventure, I completed the Underwater Skills program at Seneca College in King City, Ontario, qualifying me as a commercial diver and underwater welder. When I was 16, my dad had been posted to Norfolk, VA, to take the next level of his officer training as a naval officer, and they had a great youth program, that allowed me to take my NAUI scuba certification. I loved diving, and the ocean, and so Seneca’s training was a great fit for my adventurous personality. After graduation, I went up to Honey Harbour, Ontario, and worked a couple seasons on a cable laying barge, laying telephone cable that connected telephone lines to what is known as the ’10,000 islands’ on the East side of Georgian Bay. Round about October, or November, when things were starting to freeze up, I would buy myself a ticket, and head south to Key West, Florida to go treasure hunting with Mel Fisher. Got to work one winter for Mel’s son, captain Kane, aboard the ‘Dauntless’.

http://www.melfisher.com/SalvageOperations/TributeToMel.asp

Now this treasure hunting is quite an experience. Mel had 8 or nine boats working for him in his fleet, and people signed a contract for a percentage of treasure found. Mel had previously discovered the ‘Marguerita’, with 22 million dollars of silver and gold recovered, and investors made money, as did crew members that year, for contracts were signed by the year, anticipating the find of the sister ship, ‘the Atocha’, that historians record as having sunk in the same storm with hundreds of millions of gold and silver bullion aboard.

There were generally two types of boats in the fleet, search boats and dive boats. Search boats tow various metal detecting equipment, and dive boats are equipped with digging equipment, as the area the ships were known to have been lost, is known as ‘The Quicksands’, with the bottom covered with constantly moving and shifting underwater sand dunes, that are often 30-40’ high. The dive boats are equipped with air lifts, and a neat thing called ‘mailboxes’. These mailboxes, are huge elbow shaped tubes, that fold down over the propellers of the ship. We had little Boston whaler skiffs with outboard motors, that we would use to fly anchors out on three or four sides of the dive boat, so that these mailboxes could be folded down over the propellers of the dive boat, and pinned in place. The boat would them rev up it’s engines, and blast the prop wash down into the bottom, quickly digging a hole in the bottom 30’ or more deep, all the way down to bedrock. Then, the engines are idled back, to direct a stream of clear, surface water down into the hole. We then, as divers, would grab metal detectors, and would scoot down to the bottom, to see if any silver, gold, or lead musket balls had been uncovered by the blast.

We were allowed to keep our first silver or gold coin found, I still have my 1622 silver piece of eight to this day.

There was a wonderful side benefit to all of this digging in the sand. When we dug the first hole in the morning, the props would immediately uncover any clams, worms, crabs etc, that had been under the sand. Huge schools of fish would begin to congregate around the digging area, so that by the end of an 8-10 hour day of digging, there were literally thousands of fish swimming around the hole with us as we continue to work our metal detectors. We would begin to view the menu for the evenings feast throughout the day…

Now, we were not allowed to spear fish during the day, as any blood in the water would attract sharks, but at the end of the day, just as the sun was setting, we would descend with spear guns, and shoot a dozen or so fish, for Hor De Orby’s (hors d’oeuvres). Probably 8-10 of these fish were grouper or snappers, or some type of delicacy, that we would quickly fillet and hand to the cook, to bread and fry up, as we began the evening chores of washing out dive equipment, greasing ‘O’ rings, filling tanks, cleaning the deck, etc, as we began the three hour ride into harbour, where we would anchor out for the night. These were gratefully served as snacks enroute, before our evening feast. Usually, we anchored at Marquesis Key, as it’s channel enters into the only coral atoll in US waters.

We would take all the fish guts, scales, etc, with any trash fish we had speared, and put this in a 45 gallon garbage container, with about 5 gallons of sea water. Someone, over the years, had welded a shark hook to a 3’ length of chain, that we would attach to a clevis on the end of one of our spare anchor lines.

Then after the traditional nightly feast, we play cards on deck, and then hook up a 2-5lb trash fish to this shark hook, and let the line drift back behind the boat 50-100 yards. Every couple of minutes, we would scoop up some of the blood and guts from the 45 gallon trash can, and we would chum for sharks.

For a couple of weeks, all we caught was one skinny little 5’ hammerhead, so I had a hard time believing the stories of the monster sharks the crew had caught in previous years. Sounded like fish stories to me….

Well, one night, there was a ‘glow in the dark’ plankton bloom that was awesome to see. The water was really clear and calm, and you could look down into the dark, and anywhere something moved, these plankton would light up, leaving a glowing trail when a fish swam. Every crest of every wavelet would light up, and it was really peaceful and picturesque. Looked like those greenish glow sticks that people wave around on July 4^th fireworks: Really beautiful.

Round about 10-11Pm captain Kane told me to pull in that shark hook, and go to bed. I was really tired, and nodding off, but I really wanted to catch one of those big sharks everyone talked about. I pleaded with him to leave the shark hook out, and he said I could on one condition: ‘If you hook a big tiger shark, and it fouls that line in the props, you are first diver in with a knife, to cut the props free.”

“Sure!” I said!

So, I dumped the whole trash can full of chum over the side, and rinsed out the container. Then I thought: ‘How will I know if I get a bite in the middle of the night?’ So, I pulled in about 40 feet of rope, and figure-eighted it around a 70 lb spare Danforth anchor that we had stowed around a set of bollards behind the cabin where we slept. I figured that if a shark hooked itself, it would rattle that anchor on the metal deck, and I would wake up and pull him in.

Finally, I went to bed, and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

In the middle of the night, I was awakened the sound of a loud ‘clang’, and the boat was shaking, and everyone was up, and men were yelling: ‘We got a shark, we got a shark!’ There was the sound of gun shots, as I sleepily ran to the back deck of the Dauntless. They had a spotlight, trying to spot the fin of this huge shark exploding through the surf behind the boat. When the monster had taken the bait, it had flown that 70lb anchor 40’ through the air, and the anchor was pinned against the back guard rail so hard that two men, could not pull it off. As the fish exploded from side to side behind the boat, it seemed like the entire ocean lit up from the line, like a ‘glow in the dark’ football field. A couple of us tried to pull it in, but the rope just tore open our hands, and the entire boat was shaking from the fight!

Each time the fin of this thing would surface, captain Kane would squeeze off a couple of rounds from the .303 rifle we kept on clips for sharks and pirates.

“Bam, Bam! I think I hit him! Bam! Bam!’

Finally, someone had an idea to fire up the big 6-71 Jimmy motors, and hook up one of the winches we used for pulling anchors. Quickly, a snatch block was run off the side, and the rope run through it. We then engaged the winch, and began hauling this beast in. As it got closer, Kane managed to get a couple rounds into it’s head, and the fight was over. Yet, we couldn’t lift it!

So, we placed the rope around a brace, and began winching it in, to discover we had caught a 9 foot, 550 lb lemon shark. Teeth, going somewhere to happen.

Problem was, that even though the fish was dead, it’s jaws would still clamp shut involuntarily, and I had to duct tape a fillet knife to the end of a broom handle to cut the hook out. I wanted to gut it, and put it in our walk in cooler, but Kane wouldn’t let me, so as the knife did its work, the body of the beast dropped off, and descended into the deep, clear waters. We followed it with the spotlight into the deep, and I remember the words my father had ingrained in me as a young boy: “Son, if you are going to kill something, you better eat it!’ I thought about what a waste of good meat that was, and how that shark would never have bothered us diving, or probably even come close to us, as lemon sharks are fish eaters, not generally known to attack people.

Well, the moral of the story:

Sharks are rather amazing creatures I’ve found. A shark’s primary sense is a keen sense of smell. It can detect one drop of blood in a million drops of water (25 gallons or 100 liters) and can smell blood 0.25 mile (0.4 km) away. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/anatomy/Senses.shtml

By throwing ladlefuls of blood into the water behind the boat, sharks would hone in on the scent trail, and would readily take the bait placed for them.

So it is in our life. God is love, and we who know Jesus, are His children, designed to walk in love, life, light, strength, power and authority in the earth. With Him, we are invincible, and satan knows this.

So, he has to do something to get through our impregnable armor.

God forgives us, but commands us to forgive others:

Colossians 3:13

Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].

Luke 6:37  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Mark 11:25

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.

Mark 11:26

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.

God commands us to forgive people who do us wrong, but in the business of life, people can tick us off, and we can get offended. This is a bait of satan, designed to get us out of the will of God for our lives. John Bevere has a tremendous book by this title http://archive.org/details/JohnBevereTheBaitOfSatan that you can download.

2 Corinthians 2:11

To keep Satan from getting the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his wiles and intentions.

This is one of the wiles of satan, a trap designed to destroy us.

Unforgiveness to the devil, is like blood is to a shark.

1 Peter 5:8

Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.

Satan is a predator, trying to devour our lives. He cannot touch us when we are fully walking with God, in love towards our fellow man, so, he sends people to do us wrong, with the intent purpose to get us in unforgiveness. Why?

Remember the story Jesus told in Matt 18 about the servant who owed a huge debt he could not pay, and how he was brought before the king? He asked for mercy, and the king graciously forgave him, and released him from his debt. This man then went out, saw another guy that owed him a small amount, and had the man thrown in prison. Servants told the king, who then had him arrested and brought back to court. His verdict?

(Mat 18:33 NIV)  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’

(Mat 18:34 NIV)  In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

I want you to see this. Unforgiveness will produce torment in your life.!

When you or I choose not to forgive, we go into bondage. You get turned over to the tormenters.

(Mat 18:35 NIV)  “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Unforgiveness brings torment into our lives, and allows the devil to come and do what he does, kill our dreams, steal our joy, blessing, or perhaps our lives, and destroy things that may have taken us years to build.

Grudges only hurt us, not the person we hate or stonewall, for they allow demonic spirits to torture us, and steal our peace. Forgive: It’s your life at stake…

Homework:

1.      Come clean with God. Ask Him to show you all the things you’ve done that offend him, and ask Him to Forgive you Come clean with others. Ask God to show you all the people who have hurt you, and forgive them. I had to make a 21 page list, forgive them, then burn the list.
2.      Come clean with yourself. Ask God to show you all the areas of your life where you are beating yourself up, and forgive yourself.
3.   Ask God to show you other people that are caught in this trap, and pray for them. There will be healing in it for you. (Job 42:10 NIV)  After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.

The Heart of a Curse!

Galatians 3:13The Message (MSG)

^13-14 Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham’s blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God’s life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it.

2 Cor 5:20 (Phillips)For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether—the past is finished and gone, everything has become fresh and new.

This is our positional truth, that we behold and marvel upon as we understand our new birth, and adoption into God’s family as His child!

Yet, even as a Christian, there can be cycles of defeat, despair, that seem to helplessly continue in our families and children. This, theologians have identified as a ‘generational curse’.

Yet, we are redeemed from every curse!

So why do certain bad things continue to happen? Cycles of addiction, defeat, abuse, brokenness in yea even, Christian homes?

Let’s take a look at a couple of Scriptures: Joh 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Mt 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Mr 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

The kingdom of God, is a kingdom of love. It is also a kingdom of truth.

We are called to love people, to overcome evil with good, and to: Mt 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Lu 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. Ro 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

Ever had a series of bad things seem to keep happening in your life, a seemingly unending cycle of heartache, betrayal, and bad things?

Seems that as soon as you begin to get over the last heartbreak, bad relationship, or betrayal, another one looms on the horizon of time…. Makes you want to give up in hopelessness…

HOW A CURSE WORKS

This is a curse, and here is how it works. When someone does us wrong, it hurts.

Heart Wounds:

Just like a regular cut or wound, if a wound in our heart is not cleansed and tended it too, it can become infected. An infection in the heart of man, is called bitterness, and it not only hurts us, in making us cynical, sarcastic, and hateful, but it also poisons the every atmosphere we enter.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

So, how do we end the cycle of brutality, and create a better future? You need to see this verse again: Mt 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. When you refuse to forgive, you judge. When you judge, that which you wished would happen to your enemy, continually happens in your life. Simple, forgive! You don’t understand! I have a right to be angry! They ripped me off, (or in many cases, performed much worse atrocities than that!) I did not say you couldn’t, or shouldn’t be angry, but I did say you MUST forgive!

It is a command of God, not a suggestion!

You have a right to be angry, but you do not have a right to judge them, or hold a grudge, and become bitter. Let me make it plain. You have a right to forgive. You have a covenant right to be healed from what they did. You do not have a right to unforgiveness, bitterness, and judgment. In fact, this law of God, of judgment, is what will keep you in your cycle of defeat and betrayal, as you baste in your bitterness. The Bible is the Word of God, eternally established before the throne of God, in the heavens, it is eternal law. Now reread these words of Jesus, in light of this: Mt 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

When we judge, we are judged!

The judgment, is simple: “what goes around, comes around.” The exact same thing that we judge others for, we get judged for, and it opens the door for the cycle of destruction in our lives again. Ugh! We can forgive, heal, love, and go free, and discover that: Pr 26:2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come,

Or

we go around the mountain one more time….

I believe you will forgive. As you do, I would like to pray for you:

I command, all the horrible things that have kept happening in your life, now stop! In the name, power, and authority, of the Lord Jesus Christ,  it has become your time to heal, and walk in a brighter, more glorious life and future!

Let’s pray together: ‘Father, You know, You see, and You have seen what has been done to me, and what I have done. Forgive me, for my judgment, hatred, bitterness, and for taking offense. I declare right now, before Your throne, that I forgive! Every time I think of what has been done to me, I will stand upon these words, I forgive. Now Father, heal me, restore what has been stolen, lost, broken, betrayed, and shattered, in my life, and the life of my family, for You alone are big enough to do it. In Your name I pray this Lord Jesus, Amen!’