Sunday 3/13/22

Spend some time this morning sitting quietly before the Lord preparing your heart for corporate worship. Listen to some music, pray, rest in the Father.

  • Journal about anything that comes to mind

Saturday 3/12/22

But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?” ~Exodus 6:30

Humility is rooted in truth and reality. Humility serves us well because it allows us to operate according to the way things are—with no over-inflated OR over-deflated view of self.

Insecurity comes from lies. Insecurity dwells amidst the lies that we aren’t good enough, smart enough, or gifted enough to accomplish the tasks before us.

It’s difficult to know for sure if Moses is operating here out of humility or insecurity. Is he merely acknowledging his limitations, or has he believed a lie that he isn’t good enough for this?

What we do know for sure is that the Lord is remarkably patient with Moses. God adapts to Moses’ objections and calls his brother Aaron to be Moses’ prophet, to be the mouthpiece of the messages the Lord will speak to Moses. To be sure, there are times when the Lord simply demands obedience, but there are also times when the Lord shows an uncommon kindness, like he does here for Moses.

Moses does not have to carry it all. He and his brother can in this way share the load. Praise be to our merciful God!

  • Have you ever experienced God’s uncommon kindness and patience?
  • Do you battle with insecurity? Meditate on how both humility and insecurity are at play in your life.

Friday 3/11/22

“I will bring you to the land I swore…I am the Lord”…Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. ~Exodus 6:8,9

The Lord promises Moses that he will bring Israel to the land he promised to them as a possession.

Moses delivers that word to the Israelites.

But the Israelites don’t trust Moses. From their perspective, all he’s brought them so far is getting on Pharaoh’s bad side and paying the consequences through harsh, unreasonable working conditions.

We believe and know that Moses is truly speaking with the Lord and delivering the Lord’s messages to Israel, but the average Israelite is still suspicious. And discouraged. And suffering under the harshest of labor.

Under such conditions, our hearts can harden. In our suspicion of others and discouragement, we can lose sight of God entirely—we can become cynical and resigned.

  • Where are you experiencing discouragement today?
  • What might motivate you, despite discouragement and suspicion, to nevertheless listen to God?

Thursday 3/10/22

Exodus 6: 6-8

“Say therefore to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’”

Six times in this passage, Moses is told by God to tell the Israelites that He (God) is going to do something. I will free you…I will redeem you…I will take you…I will be your God…I will bring you…I will give it to you….I am The Lord.

This passage comes along just as the Israelites’ circumstances have gone from bad to worse. At this point many of them could have been thinking that things could not possibly get any more bitter or fearful for them. And then comes an invitation from God Himself. It is an invitation to believe, to trust, and to enter into a new level of relationship with Him. God “reintroduces” Himself to Moses by a new title – “The Lord” (vs. 2). And the writer goes further by telling us that this is a title that God did not use of Himself with the ancient fathers.

It is the Lordship of God that carries the power to fulfill His promises! Promises are nice things so far as they go, but words are cheap. Most of us have experienced the pain and disappointment of unkept promises, but we have a Lordwho cares for us, and who possesses the strength and might to fulfill every promise He has made to us! And He will do it for He is a promise keeping God! As we continue through the Exodus story, we will see Him deliver on every single one.

Questions for contemplation:

  • How can I practice trusting in and relying on God to keep His promises to me?
  • Have I failed to keep promises to someone? Can I seek their forgiveness?

(Dave Hipskind, Little Flock home group)

Wednesday 3/9/22

I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. ~Exodus 6:4-5

Foreigners. Exiles. Strangers. These are words that describe ancient Israel under slavery in Egypt, but they also describe us here and now. As followers of Jesus, it is appropriate that we should not quite fit into a world overflowing with open rebellion against God, his creation, and his ways.

The Apostle Peter was aware of this reality and wrote, in 1 Peter 2:12: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

This is a call to live peaceful, good, ethical lives, following Christ even if it costs us our reputation or it leads to accusations of wrongdoing (or wrongheadedness). It’s a beautiful vision, that Christians would live such beautiful and compelling lives that pagans would naturally be drawn to it, and even “glorify God on the day he visits us.”

We should notice the “on the day he visits us” language. The Apostle Paul reminds the church in Philippians 3:20 that our true citizenship is in heaven, and this is the final layer of our identity as foreigners and exiles. A world in chaos and rebellion cannot be our ultimate home—but “on the day he visits us,” Christ will make all things new, and “as it is in heaven” will come to the world—our true home.

  • How do you feel like a foreigner or exile? Where are you truly at home?

Tuesday 3/8/22

You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God. Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. ~Deuteronomy 4:35; 39

He says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ~Psalm 46:10

Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. ~Psalm 100:3

“Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” ~Isaiah 37:16

When you meet a new person, how do you introduce yourself? Often, I start with my name and give a detail about myself related to my work or where I live or some other defining characteristic. Then I make sure I’m listening closely to how they introduce themselves because I know I am terrible remembering names and will rely on those details to remember them when we meet next.

In today’s passages we are not only repeatedly reminded of who the Lord God is, but we are also reminded of his very nature through defining characteristics. “There is no other. Exalted among the nations. He who made us…” Each detailed characteristic points us back to His name. And when we say His name we should be able to remember those characteristic details that make Him who He is. Consider the following questions:

  • The first passage reminds us that we have seen these things so that we might know the Lord is God. Where have you seen God working in your life recently, revealing He is Lord to you?
  • If you had to introduce God to someone else, how would that introduction go? What characteristic of God would you choose to highlight in your introduction?

(Marcie Gates, Little Flock home group)

Monday 3/7/22

The Israelites will be called out of Egypt with many signs and wonders. They will be distinct as a people of God.

In our daily devotions, we will be looking at some distinctives of us as the people of God. Called to be His own, His bride, His church.

This video explains the use of the word Covenant in the scriptures. God is a covenant-making God, a promise-keeping God.

Watch and jot down things that are interesting or confusing:

This week we will be looking at some passages that speak to Who God is, and Who we are. Be on the lookout for these themes throughout the week.