Tues.’s Devo - The Bitter Root

Read Rev. 2:9 The first thing addressed in this church age is their persecution. The first church age had persecution, but not like this one. God does not tell them he will take their persecution away, but he wants them to know that He sees what they are going through. He knows. We stumble over a God that will allow us to go through unbearable circumstances and not rescue us out. God chose us, and it is his decision what he does with our lives, but we can be sure that it is for a purpose. Read Heb. 10;32-38 and know that there is a reward awaiting you, for all you endure for the kingdom’s sake. Jesus had to learn obedience by the things he suffered. We are no different. James 2 tells us to count it all joy when we fall into temptation and trials. They will make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Romans 8 says that the sufferings we go through here on earth are not comparable to the glory we will receive when we get to heaven. When he sees their poverty, he sees that they are spiritually blessed and rich. Jesus told them in Matt 5 not to worry about what they wore or ate, because God would supply their needs, but to seek the kingdom first, then all these things would be added. Yesterday we learned that Smyrna means bitter. A bitter root must have settled into the church and what splintered off was this group that God called the “synagogue of Satan”. I wonder what they called themselves. I’m sure it was something politically correct that sounded right and safe, when it was really not. These people said they were Jews, when they weren’t like people today, who say they are Christians because they go to church, but really aren’t. Cain and Seth came through the same birth canal, but their seeds were from two different sources. Even Eve was deceived into thinking Cain was from God. So it was with this church. It came from the devil’s seed of bitterness. Lord, show us roots of bitterness that might be trying to deceive us with their lies.