Maybe the Beatles were onto something (or on something?) when they wrote All You Need Is Love. But, the love they were referring to wasn't the agape--or unconditional love--our Savior drenches us in. As we conclude the final chapter in Exodus (hooray!) and forge our way towards the Christmas season, there's no more ideal time than this to pause and be steeped in His love.
Be Moses today. You have the opportunity to approach God’s throne freely and with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). Most of the world today – even Christians – are standing at a distance. Be the one person who chooses to go into the thickness with God. It is in God’s thickness that our troubles become muted, the chaos lessens, and the distractions diminish.Enjoy the Lord’s great love and peace enveloped around you!
God has placed godly guardrails in our lives to keep us from falling into the ditch. Allow the individual(s) whom God has placed in your life to guide you. Proverbs 11:4 reminds us there is safety in a multitude of counselors. Surround yourself with those who fear God; absorb and act upon their wisdom, just as Moses did. And don’t forget: true wisdom always aligns with His Word.
When we’re young in our relationship with Christ, this “give me” attitude that the Israelites had is common. But God doesn’t want us to stay young in our faith – He desires us to grow. First Peter 2:2 says, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” We are to desire the Word just as a baby desires milk. Let's read on...
The Israelites have been out of Egypt for a month and a half, roughly. Last week, we listened in as they murmured and complained to Moses about the lack of water, and then no sooner read how the Lord turned bitter water into sweet and led them to twelve wells and 70 palm trees. He is a God of more than enough. Now we pick up in the following chapter where the Israelites are back on the road again. I think you’ll find out their attitude hasn’t changed much…praise God that He is patient with us!
This week is a #throwback to when Grace Norberry helped me study Exodus 15. We walked through it verse-by-verse, prayerfully considering the things God was speaking. I’ll preface her comments within the study with “[GN]” after the bullet point so you can note this beautiful young lady’s contributions (she was 10 years old at the time).
These Bible studies aren’t just for everyone else – they are for me, too. This week, I am going to cover the first half of Exodus 14. It’s really not a long chapter to begin with, but as I was writing, there was one section where I just sensed the Lord wanted us to camp. I know it is an area I need to focus on because it deals with fear, staying strong in the battle, and looking to the Lord. This week, we’ll park for a bit while we learn and apply what the Lord desires to teach.
The first 20 verses of Exodus 12 were instructions from the Lord spoken to Moses. Now, picking up in verse 21, Moses begins to give the same instructions to the people of Israel. I like how we can read exactly what the Lord spoke and then also what Moses relayed to the people. It shows how Moses was very careful in conveying God’s spoken Word to the people. Let’s take a lesson from Moses: listen to what God speaks (and He speaks through His Word) and then share that word with others. Then, let God take care of the rest!
