Focus 2024: Week 3
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January 14, 2024
January 15th: Where God Reigns
Scripture Reading: Exodus 8-10: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ’Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.’ So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.”
So What:
Today was a longer reading, but it’s a great opportunity to see the battle that wages between Pharaoh and Moses. When you think about it though, it’s not just a battle between two men. It’s a battle between: freedom and slavery; darkness and light; pride and humility. Consider the remarkably different attitudes, even between Moses and Pharaoh. Moses comes to the battle scared of rejection, unsure of himself, but certain that God is with Him. Pharaoh shows up aggressive and proud, sure of himself, and uncertain about this God that he hasn’t dealt with before. By the end of today’s reading, we see God over all, working through darkness, plagues, his people, and nature itself to win the battle and set his people free.
Now What:
Where God reigns and rules, there is freedom and hope. But along the way, there is a battle to be fought. In this particular reading we see two kingdoms that we can be a part of. In one kingdom, there is a King looking to set his people free. This King will do everything in His power to rescue, save, and free. He has demonstrated power over nature and the universe – in fact, He created it all, and rightfully deserves the allegiance of every member of His creation.
In the other kingdom, we see a leader looking to control and enslave his people. This king will do everything in his power to hold on to his power and submit to no one. He has demonstrated the power to enslave, the power to withhold good gifts, and the power to oppress. He has created nothing, but through force, secures his hold on others.
As followers of Jesus, we’re invited to choose which kingdom we will belong to. We can choose to submit to our good God who loves us, chose us, and invites us into life. Or we can choose to submit to the kingdoms of the world who will use us, abuse us, and invite us into death.
We can choose to be in the kingdom where God reigns over all, lovingly and graciously.
Questions to Consider:
When you consider the idea that there are two kingdoms, one of light and darkness revealed in scripture, how would you describe God’s kingdom as found in the Bible?
What pieces of our old kingdom and our old lives do you still need to get rid of? False allegiances and old habits hold us back from living out our kingdom calling.
January 16th: Where God Changed Everything
Scripture Reading: Exodus 11:1-12:30: “Now the Lord had said to Moses, ‘I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.’”
So What:
The end of the plagues has come with one final booming shot across the bow. The battle will be finished here, with God revealing Himself as the rescuer of Israel, over creation, and able to submit even the hardest of hearts. Pharaoh has hardened his heart, but God is determined to free His people, and with this final plague, all of Egypt surrenders.
The people of Israel are given strange instructions along the way though: “They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses…”. This will be the indicator that God’s wrath is to be turned aside, so as not to harm God’s people. Through obedience and trust, God’s people are saved, while God’s enemies suffer under His justice.
This is one of the most important moments in Israel’s history, and is still celebrated in the Passover supper (of which Jesus will partake in his own ‘last supper’). We are marked by this meal as well, taking the piece of the Passover meal which Christ called us to remember, the wine and bread, remembering His sacrifice (as our lamb) that marks us for His freedom.
Now What:
Like Israel, we too are marked by God’s providence. We have been covered in the blood of Christ, and rescued by the cross. God’s true enemies – death, sin, and hell – are defeated in that victory, and we, like Israel, are free to walk out of slavery to sin and death, and to walk towards God’s faithfulness and the life He has called us to in Christ.
This is the moment in Moses’ story where all of God’s promises come to bear. This is where God changed everything for Israel. He has proven Himself true, as Egypt surrenders to God’s power, and God’s people prepare to go free.
Many of us have forgotten that we’ve been made free, and hold on to old lifestyles, habits, hurts, and hang-ups. God is calling us away from those things, so that we might follow Him more fully.
Questions to Consider:
What habits, hang-ups, or hurts, do you need to be free from, trusting God to lead you into wholeness?
When God frees, he does it to bring freedom and hope to others. Just like us, Israel was set aside to bring glory to God and hope to others. In what ways can you display His glory this week, and help others find freedom?
January 17th: Where Are We Headed Now?
Scripture Reading: Exodus 13-14:31: “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”
So What:
God has fully defeated the Egyptians. He has embarrassed their leader, brought down their nation economically, and destroyed their armies in the ocean. In the middle of it all though, God is not merely concerned with justice and wrath. He is invested in leading His people into the promised land. As we look at this scripture, we see the God who lights the path for His people. They may not know the way forward, or exactly where they’re headed, but they can be certain that God is leading them.
Now What:
Each of us has a limited perspective when compared to the omniscience (all-knowing nature) of God. We don’t know the future. We only comprehend the present, so far as our senses extend. We have only our limited perspective on the past. It’s easy to get lost in all the things that we don’t know.
As we consider the future as a church, as families, and as individuals, how can we know that God is leading us? He hasn’t popped into our homes and led us by a pillar of fire lately. (If He has, our prayer team would love to chat with you after our next service!)
Psalm 119 tells us, about God’s Word, that “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.”
The best way to know God is to know His Word. The best way to know our future is to hear His plans in scripture. We can know that we’re following God as our lives line up with what He’s called us to in His Word. There are easy things and hard things about following what God has called us to. When we consider where God is leading us, we may not have all the answers. The good news is this: God has given us all the answers we need in Himself, in His Word, and in His people.
Questions to Consider:
Just thinking through the book of Exodus so far, how many different ways can you think of that God has led his people? Where have you seen God’s leading in your own life?
What things hold us back from being willing to be led by God? Where have you seen this in your life?
January 18th: Fruit Doesn’t Change the Root
Scripture Reading: Exodus 15: “And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
So What:
This chapter of Exodus is pretty comical. In the first section, we see the people of Israel celebrate together. They’re rejoicing about how God has struck down the Egyptians.
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.”
Israel glories in the power and work of God, and thanks Him for how He has rescued.
But by the end of the chapter, they’re already complaining. Even though God has brought His people out of Egypt, that hasn’t changed their hearts. You’ll see this theme throughout the rest of the book of Exodus. They’ve left a place, but it hasn’t changed who they are. Beautiful fruit doesn’t change the root. Where you are (your location) doesn’t change your heart.
Now What:
Many of us have tried to change things around us, expecting that to change who we are. People move to new cities, change jobs, and even change marriages hoping to find satisfaction and peace. Often though, just like the people of Israel, there are other issues that are going on that aren’t being dealt with. The external circumstances (as we’ll see in the life of Israel shortly) are fruit from what hasn’t been dealt with internally (the root).
When we recognize in ourselves that things aren’t going the way we want them to go, or that we aren’t at peace in the way that we feel we should be, that’s a check engine light. We need to examine what’s going on in our hearts, and see if we can determine what’s causing the symptoms, before trying to make a massive (potentially unrelated) change.
Questions to Consider:
When it comes to sin, often we deal with the fruit (negative action, lack of peace), and not the root (what’s causing the fruit). As you consider the ways you’ve fallen short of the glory of God, is there a consistent root cause that you might need to deal with? Ask God to help you see it.
We watched the Israelites be blown back and forth in their devotion to the Lord. How can we move towards consistency in our love for God?
January 19th: Where God Meets Us
Scripture Reading: Exodus 16: “And the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
So What:
God’s people are in the wilderness and grumbling again (prepare yourself for more of that). Even though God has removed them from Egypt, and met them with water from the rock to quench their thirst, they still don’t believe God is going to take care of them. They’re complaining. They’re obnoxious.
And this is exactly where God meets them.
“And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
They may not be in the “where” that they’re headed to. They may not be in the promised land. God may not have completely sanctified them yet as His people. But still, He takes care of them.
Maybe you don’t feel like you’re exactly where the Lord has been leading you – spiritually, in terms of obedience, or in terms of where you feel like you ought to be by now. The beautiful truth in this passage is that God meets us wherever we are.
He may not give the answers we want, or give us what we THINK we need. Rather, he meets us in our need with His presence, what He KNOWS we need.
God meets us in our need.
God meets us in our complaints.
When we go to him for help, He answers.
God’s character in this passage reminds me of the words of Jesus in Matthew 7: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
We get the opportunity to go to Him, and find what we need.
What a gift.
A Practice to Engage in:
Today’s practice is to do an inventory of what you need, and take that to the Lord.
It’s an opportunity to consider three things.
1. Begin by considering, like the Israelites, what you need to live. Notice how God has met your needs in this past season. Remind yourself how He has taken care of your family, and held your life in His hands.
2. Consider how you need God to change your heart. Where are you grumbling like the Israelites? Where is your heart hardened like Pharaoh? Ask God to reveal these areas to you.
3. End in repentance, asking God to change you and meet you in your need. Ask Him to reveal any next steps you need to take, and make a plan to invite your community into what God has revealed for you.
Questions to Consider:
Is there a need in your life that you need to express to the Lord? Have you expressed this need in your Biblical community as well?
Clearly, grumbling isn’t the solution in scripture, even though God (in his Kindness) answers His people. What attitude should we have as we go to the throne of God for help?
January 20th: When the “Where” Meets the “What”
Scripture Reading: Exodus 19: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
So What:
We know where the Israelites are headed. God has promised to lead them into the promised land and into His presence. But along the way, we’re going to see that God isn’t content to leave the Israelites the same way He found them.
This is when the where meets the what. We’ll begin to see exactly what God is calling the Israelites to do:
“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’”
There’s an “if” and a “then” in this passage: IF you obey and keep my covenant, THEN, you’ll become this incredible kingdom of priests, and a nation set apart by my love.
Now What:
If you’re a follower of Jesus, your eternity is secure in Christ forever. God Himself will bring you into his presence, and nothing, not even death, can separate you from His rescuing love. But along the way, God isn’t content to leave you the way He found you.
He has a high calling on your life, a purpose for your existence, and a hope for your future.
As we follow Jesus we are sanctified – made into the likeness and person of Christ.
Where we are selfish, God produces in us selflessness.
Where we are anxious and angry, God produces in us peace.
In Galatians 5, scripture tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
Where do you see yourself looking like Jesus? Where do you see yourself as not meeting the high calling Christ has on you?
Questions to Consider:
Imagine that in a year, your walk with the Lord has only grown stronger. You’ve become more aware of the calling of God on your life, and why God has placed you where you are.
If your future self were to write you a letter about your walk with the Lord - How it’s changed, and what brought you into a new and different season, what would your future self write?
If that’s true, what do you need to put in place today to begin seeing the changes you long for?
January 21st: What’s the Plan?
Scripture Reading: Exodus 20:1-21: “And God spoke all these words: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.’”
So What:
Here, we get to see what’s commonly referred to as The Ten Commandments. All along the journey, God has invited God’s people into a covenant with Him. But now, God is making it as clear as possible the kind of people He’s called the Isrealites to be.
As we’ll soon see, just like us, the Israelites will struggle to honor God and keep their promises to Him. God is merciful and kind along the way, but His calling here is clear.
God is meant to be the singular entity the Israelites worship, and they are called to live according to His incredible purpose for their lives.
Now What:
As you read through the Ten Commandments, you’re likely to notice something.
You miss the mark on several of these important commands.
While you might not be committing murder, you’ve probably struggled to keep God on the throne of your heart. You’ve probably struggled with wanting what your neighbor or co-worker has. You’ve probably lied.
You don’t measure up. To quote from the 2001 movie, A Knight’s Tale, “You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting.”
And this is part of God’s plan.
God is using these commands to do two things:
Firstly, He is pointing us to the sort of people He’s calling us to become.
We have a high calling on our lives, and God wants us to be growing in holiness and obedience for all of our days. These are the ground floor for what living a life dedicated to Christ looks like.
Secondly, in asking us to fulfill seemingly simple commands, He illuminates our very great need for a savior. We can’t do this on our own, and we can’t keep all these commandments by our own strength. Instead, Jesus was sent to give his righteousness to us. He fulfilled every command that God the Father had for Him in our place. What a gift.
Questions to Consider:
As you read through these commands, where do you see yourself falling short of the glory of God?
What does it look like to have no other Gods before the Lord? How does this play out in our day-to-day lives?
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