Exodus 7:16 - Three days of worship

Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.

I noticed something while reading through Exodus this time I had not noticed before. I had always thought God had asked Moses (through Aaron) to ask Pharoh to "Let my people go" permanently. God was only asking for them to be let go for three days to worship him in the wilderness. This is stated several times, starting in Exodus 3:18.

Lord, thank you for the depth of your scriptures. Please help us to find new things in them every day. Amen.

Exodus 6:7 - Then you will know...

I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

Sometimes we go through really difficult things and God lets us. We may cry out  to God and ask: Why me? How could you let this happen? The answer may be in the verse above, "Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of...." God does let us go through difficult things but the key word there is through. God is faithful and will bring us through them, even if our problems last longer than our life, we will be brought through in to eternity with him.

Lord, thank you for bringing us through the difficult things. Please help us to remain faithful to you. Amen.

Exodus 4:1 - What if...?

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

What if? Yup, anything can go wrong, but when we feel called to do something for the Lord focusing on the what ifs can stop us in our tracks. Moses continues on his list of excuses and God (although he becomes angry) continues to provide solutions. Finally God just has to tell Moses, Pharaoh is not going to believe you, that's part of the plan (v. 21).  We can trust God in any task he sets before us, whether or not we feel it was "successful."

Lord, thank you for using us. Please help us to trust you. Amen.

Exodus 3:11 - Who am I?

But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"

There is a quote out there that says something like, "I asked God why he would let bad things happened in the world and God asked me the same question." Sometimes we look for solutions to problems without realizing that we are the solution. It's hard to believe that we're the guy, but God's plans are so much but bigger than ours.

Lord, thank you for using us in amazing ways. Please give us confidence to do the things you have planned for us to do. Amen.

Exodus 1:11 - Slave labor

So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.

I am part of a walk through living history experience called The Passover Experience. One area of this is The Path of Plagues. The first stop is a slave scene where the Hebrew slaves are being forced to move large stones and being whipped. It is an incredibly hard scene to watch, although the environment is lightened by humor. After seeing this scene live, this verse means so much more. It makes the harsh reality of slavery even more heinous.



Lord, thank you for allowing the Israelites to thrive, even in these harsh conditions. Please help us to always trust in you, regardless of our situation, to do what we can to help those in unjust peril and to share the gift of freedom with those in slavery to sin. Amen,

Romans 15:30 - Join in the struggle

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

I have always wanted to do amazing things for Christ: be a missionary, write a book, be a speaker, etc... but so far those things have not worked out. I serve God everyday in many small ways and occasionally I get a "bigger opportunity" to serve, but generally I don't feel like my service is anything special. The verse above lets me know I can always participate in those "bigger opportunities" by finding someone who is doing them and join in their struggle by praying for them. We can do this anonymously or let them know we feel like God has called us to pray for their ministry. It will be a great encouragement to them!

Lord, thank you for every opportunity to serve, be it large or small. Please help us to look for the places you are working and join in your work. Amen.

Romans 15:17 - Glory in Christ Jesus

Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.

In this verse Paul is talking about his ministry to the Gentiles, but I think we can apply it to whatever we do. I can glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God, be it my job, my ministry, my hobbies, my relaxation time, my exercise or any thing else we do.

Lord, thank you for allowing us to bring glory to you. Please help us to do so in all we do. Amen.

1 Corinthians 5:8 - Unleavened bread

Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

In preparation for a project I am involved in, I looked up verses about leaven and yeast. For the Israelites during the Passover they ate only unleavened bread. It is the bread of the affliction because they left Egypt in haste during the exodus. The leaven also represents sin, which infiltrates a population like yeast infiltrates the dough.

Lord, thank you for symbols with represent truths. Please help us to remove sin from out lives on a daily basis. Amen.

Romans 15:1 - The stronger person

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

I love this verse and the the ones surrounding it because I think it is a great bit of psychology. We all have the opportunity to think of ourselves as the stronger person. The stronger person is the one who is called to bear with the failings of the weak, so anytime anyone does something that bothers us, as the stronger person we need to bear with them and not focus on ourselves and our needs.

Lord, thank you for your wisdom. Help us to bear with each other. Amen

Testimony #5 - A parent

I kept putting off this Testimony...I guess the closer you get to something, the more painful it is and the harder it is to express.

I was an married woman without children. My husband and I became houseparents at a children's home. This was extraordinarily difficult. After this we became foster parents to the child of a friend. This also was very difficult. Then we adopted an older child. This was the most difficult.

Then God gave us permission to give up. Church leaders sat us down and told us this was not working and had become a dangerous situation. After countless efforts to help this child, something had to change. We terminated the adoption and this child was adopted by his biological grandfather.

Now I am finding more joy in parenting our remaining foster child than I ever thought possible. And the other child has a devoted prayer warrior who will never stop loving him.

Testimony #4 - A young adult

I was a young adult without direction. I moved around, changed jobs, struggled with debt and money, couldn't find a church I liked and never felt settled.

Then God moved me to Texas. The company I was working for transferred me to the Dallas area. After a few months of continued struggle, I found a church family which is where I met my husband.

Now I still live in Texas and worship with the same church family (over 20 years later). This church and my husband gave me a much needed home and stability.

Testimony #3 - A college student

I was a college student at a Christian university. I didn't really date in high school, but I was making up for lost time in college. I dated a lot of different guys, and by dating, I mean I made out with a lot of different guys.

Then God showed me I was looking for intimacy in the wrong places. I confessed to a minister who put me in contact with a fantastic counselor who helped me understand my behavior and sort things out.

Now I am in a happy, healthy, God based marriage. I waited for God to choose the right man for me and he did a fantastic job!!!

Testimony #2 - A Teen

I was a teenager who suffered with very low self esteem in my early teens. I contemplated suicide on a regular basis and attempted it once.

Then God gave me many opportunities to build confidence and friends who appreciated and understood me and helped me to build my faith.

Now I have a very high self esteem and share Zephaniah 3:17 with others who struggle with low self esteem. God takes great delight in you and rejoices over you with singing!

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you,
     the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
     in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
     but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Testimony #1 - A child

I was a girl who grew up in a Christian family, regularly attending church. I had been through the divorce of my parents and I was a willful, defiant child with emotional issues.

Then God showed me I needed to completely turn my life over to him. I was baptized and started to grow my own faith.

Now I am an adult who has worked through my childhood pain and has developed a mature faith in the Lord.

Acts 26:22a - How to tell your testimony

But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike.

On Sunday at worship services, the speaker, Taylor Walling, spoke about why and how to share our testimony. Taylor suggested this pattern suggested for sharing our story:

1. I was...
2. Then God...
3. Now I...

I believe we can have many testimonies emerging from different times in our lives. Over the next few days, I will share a few of those testimonies from my life.

Lord, thank you for working in our lives. Please help us to share our stories. Amen.

Romans 14:19 - Peace and mutual edification

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

The verses surrounding this passage offer guidance on dealing with difference of opinion in regards to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable for Christians, Essentially the guide line is above, do whatever leads to peace and mutual edification, Arguing our point or parading our beliefs in front of the other does not lead to peace or mutual edification.

Lord, thank you for the wisdom you provide in your word. Please help us to follow that wisdom. Amen.

Romans 14:8 - For the Lord

If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

No matter what we do, we do it for the Lord. The context of this passage is that we may not have the exact same ways of expressing our faith, but regardless of those differences, we must do these things for the Lord.

Lord, thank you for loving each of us exactly where we are in our faith. Please help us to do whatever we do, for you. Amen.

Romans 14:4 - Who are you to judge?

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Not everyone's faith is the same. Just because someone believes a little different from me doesn't mean they are not a servant of the Lord. If they are willing to listen, we can share our truth, but we need to be prepared to listen to them share their truth as well. Each servant will stand or fall independently to their master. If they belong to the Lord, they will stand, regardless of the differences in the way we believe.

Lord, thank you for having a relationship with each and every one of your followers. Please help us to be coworkers with fellow believers, regardless of our differences. Amen.

Romans 13:12 - Armor of light

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

If we live every day with the urgency in this verse, we will be able to withstand Satan's arrows.

Lord, thank you for giving us armor of light. Please help us to put that armor on every day. Amen