“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” - Exodus 5:2 Moses and Aaron were ready. They had received their instructions from the Lord and were following through with obedience. The day before, they had communicated all the Lord had said to the leaders of the Israelites. The news that the Lord had heard them and was concerned over their bondage and misery comforted the nation and inspired worship. Confident that the Lord and the nation are with them, Moses and Aaron approach Pharoah and are met with a response they did not expect. Pharoah scoffed at...
“About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.” - Exodus 2:1 Many verses in the Bible appear unimportant or ancillary when first reading them. Exodus 2 begins with an account of an ordinary marriage. Yet, Paul wrote to Timothy, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us…” (2 Timothy 3:16) First, we can infer that all marriage is significant. God instituted marriage from the beginning for our benefit, and it is designed to be intrinsically beneficial and lasting. Secondly, we see that without this marriage, Moses, the Deliverer of the Hebrews, would not have been born. This mother and father are unnamed, and we only know that they are part...
“Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” - 1 Corinthians 1:7-9 As citizens of heaven, we know we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, our sins are forgiven, and we have been adopted into the family of God as co-heirs with Christ. Sometimes, even more often than I like to admit,...
“But Abram replied, ‘O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?’” - Genesis 15:8 We've read about Abraham's many acts of faith, even called the "Father of Faith" by some. In Hebrews 11, he left everything and moved his family to an unknown destination because the Lord told him to. We recall his act of obedience to sacrifice his only son on the mountaintop found in Genesis 22. Even in Genesis 15, he is recorded to believe God and counted as righteous because of his faith. It would be easy to elevate Abraham in our minds as someone above us, higher than us, and somehow different than us because of his excellent displays of...
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!” - Psalms 84:11-12 The psalmist ends Psalm 84 with another blessing for those who trust in God. Worship is believing in Jesus and what He says. This is what truly matters in life. The Lord is a sun to us because He shines on us and is the brightness of our days. He is a shield to protect and guard us against our foes. He is the only one, true, possible source of grace, honor, and true glory. That simple trust...
