Category Archives: Devotional Studies Through the Bible

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Grumble, Grumble, Grumble

 

Moses said, ‘This will happen

when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening,

and bread to the full in the morning;

for the LORD hears your grumblings

which you grumble against Him.

And what are we?

Your grumblings are not against us

but against the LORD.

Exodus 16:8

 

Moses and Aaron have taken the grumblings of the people before God. The Lord says that He will give the people what they grumble for, so that He may test them, to see if they will walk in His instruction (Exodus 16:4). 

Moses and Aaron return to the people and assure them that the LORD has heard them and is going to answer. However, Moses also assures the people that it is not him and Aaron that these people are grumbling against but God Himself. In two consecutive verses Moses tells the people that their grumbling is against the Lord. Any time God speaks in His Word it is something important. So if He repeats himself, we better make sure that we are paying close attention.

Have you ever really realized how much you complain? I know that God has brought me into my own wilderness journey many times to show me this very thing. We, if we belong to Christ, should be filled with peace, love, hope, grace, self-control, patience, and gentleness (Galatians 5:22-23). We are not to be filled with pouting, complaining, huffing, puffing, and grumbling. I have often found myself living in a spirit of complaint. I have found myself allowing the things that are not going my way to overpower every thankful bone in my body. Then I have complained even more because I don’t “feel” God like I used to.

Oh precious one, the snare was laid and I walked… no, I ran right into it. When the enemy gets his foot in the door through our grumbling there is no end to the damage that he can do. He can split churches, destroy marriages, tear apart life-long friendships, and make a canyon between us and our relationship with our Savior. This is not because God walked away, but because we like spoiled children, turn our backs and stomp to our room and scream “You don’t love me!”

Have you ever sat down and examined your heart by examining your words and realized how you must sound to the one who endured the cross for you? Oh my friend, I have and I must admit I was ashamed of myself.

If our praise is a soothing and sweet aroma in the nostrils of our God can you imagine how putrid the smell of our grumbling must be?

My friend, the next time you find yourself grumbling and complaining about what is going on in your life I suggest you take a moment to step back and see who it is you are really grumbling against. Especially when you find yourself in constant complaint about those in leadership. This includes your boss at work. This includes your parents. This includes your husband. This includes your pastor.

All those in positions of authority were allowed that authority by God (Romans 13:1-7), therefore, we are to honor them with the honor that is due them. The only time we are given the freedom to not honor them is when they attempt to demand us to be disobedient to God. Then and only then, do we have the right to refuse their authority over us.

Oh Father,
Forgive me for the times that I have given the enemy a foothold in my life by grumbling. How easily the enemy can convince us that we have the right to complain against those who are in authority over us. Thank you Father, for Your Word. For by it You renew my mind and You open my eyes to the schemes of the one who seeks to destroy me and the ministry You have given me, that You have given all those who trust in Your Son, the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). May my heart always be Yours and inclined to hear Your voice. May I honor You by honoring those You have placed in authority over me.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Getting The World Out

 

The whole congregation of the sons of Israel

grumbled against Moses and Aaron

 in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:2

 

I wish I could say that the sons of Israel learned their lesson about grumbling at the waters of Marah, but I cannot. The grumbling at the waters of Marah was just the beginning. The children of Israel are a month and a half into their journey from Egypt. They are now in the wilderness of Sin somewhere between the oasis of Elim and Sinai and what we discover is that the name of this wilderness is very fitting. 

The children of Israel have only less than two months ago experienced the mighty arm of God in Egypt. They have just watched God make bitter waters sweet. The children of Israel have had the Lord their Healer lead them to an oasis called Elim, where there were springs and date trees galore. The Lord has delivered them and provided for them over and over and now that it is time for them to set out on their journey again we also find them grumbling again. 

 

The sons of Israel said to them,

‘Would that we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt,

when we sat by the pots of meat,

when we ate bread to the full;

for you have brought us out into this wilderness

to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’

Exodus 16:3   

 

When the people grumbled at Marah about the bitter waters the Lord made them sweet. He then immediately declared to them that He was the Lord their Healer and if they obeyed Him then they would not experience the diseases that were put upon the Egyptians.  

God not only shares a little more information about Himself to these people, and to us, but He also is reminding them that the way of life in Egypt was not according to God. Have you ever heard the saying, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl? Well, God was trying to show this mixed multitude that just being out of Egypt was not enough, He is going to have to get Egypt out of them. 

The people grumbled for water at Marah and now in the wilderness of Sin they grumble for food. They do not give God praise and thanks for the water at Marah and then now seek Him for food, they choose rather to complain.  

My friend, this is nothing more than this group of people thinking that they can emotionally manipulate Moses and God to get what they want. They are testing God, just as every child tests his parents.  

God showed mercy on the children of Israel at Marah and He made the bitter waters sweet. However, we must remember that mercy softens some but it hardens others. Let us pay close attention as we go through this wilderness journey with the children of Israel.  

The Word of God warns us in 1 Corinthians 10:6, “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” God’s mercy on Pharaoh in Egypt during the plagues only hardened Pharaoh more and now we see the same pattern beginning here in the wilderness with the children of Israel.  

God gave them mercy at Marah and made the bitter waters sweet, so that they would have sweet water to drink. Yet this multitude does not give God praise. They do not give Him thanks. They come now expecting that they will grumble to Moses even more and receive what their flesh craves.  

Did you notice how distorted the view of the past is to this multitude? This group looks back on their life in Egypt and they are completely ignoring the cruel bondage that caused them to call out to God for deliverance. They look back and all they are recalling at this moment is pots of meat and eating bread to the full.  

Oh precious one, see how the enemy of our souls can mess with our minds?

Have you been there?

I know that I have.  

As a believer, a redeemed child of God, I have spent time in my own wilderness. I have grown weary and frustrated in that wilderness and my mind has went back to the past when I would dance the night away while intoxicated by alcohol and all the cares of the world would seem to be a million miles away. My mind would take me there because my flesh cried out for what it lusted after and the enemy was whispering lies in my ear. “See how carefree you were then? See how much fun you always had? Go on, don’t you wish you had that at least one more time?”  

How thankful I am for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Romans 8:5-6 declares, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”  

When the Spirit of God who is in you, if you do indeed belong to Christ (Romans 8:9), divides through the lies of the enemy and the lust of your flesh with the truth of the Word of God, then you are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).  

When you know the truth, it is that truth that sets you free (John 8:32). It is being intoxicated with the Spirit of God that brings you peace- mind, body, and soul. Oh precious one, your body can be free, but if your mind is still enslaved then you have gained nothing. You must be “…transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) 

Oh Father,

Forgive me for the times I have attempted to emotionally manipulate You to get my way. Thank You for opening my eyes to the truth, for I did not even realize what I was doing. Thank You for being patient with me. As You carry me through wilderness journeys, to remove the world from me, may I not forget to give You thanks and praise. For I know that You are working in me and through me to bring about Your perfect result and complete me in You (James 1:2-4). 

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Following the Crowd or Christ

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea,

and they went out into the wilderness of Shur;

and they went three days in the wilderness

and found no water.

Exodus 15:22

 

The children of Israel and the mixed multitude that just finished singing the praises of the great Redeemer have been three days now on their journey to the promised land. Moses has led them into the wilderness of Shur. Psalm 77:20 says, “You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” My friend, do not miss that it was indeed the Lord who led them into this wilderness.  

Three days into this wilderness and the people see no sign of water. Three days, a mere seventy-two hours, since the children of Israel, since the people who journeyed out of Egypt, witnessed the greatness of the arm of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Three days, no water in sight, then the people come to a place called Marah.

Marah in Hebrew means bitter. The people finally find water only to discover that it is bitter and not safe to drink. Now how do these people who witnessed the LORD turn the Nile into blood and then make it water again respond to this bitter water now? Do they immediately cry out in faith to God and ask Him to make the water pure?  

No, sadly they turn to Moses and they attack him with their complaints, “So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?” (Exodus 15:24). 

In Moses response to the people’s grumbling we see why he is the one leading these people. Moses does not attempt to fix the situation himself. He doesn’t begin grumbling with the people. He doesn’t crumble in the presence of the people or fall into despair at their complaints against him. He doesn’t pace about and scratch his head doubting his ability to lead these people. He has already been through that at the burning bush before God, and before his people and before Pharaoh. We read that he looks up and cries out to the LORD. The people look to Moses, but Moses looks to God. 
 

The Lord shows Moses a tree, and Moses throws this tree into the water, and the waters become sweet. Oh precious one this is a beautiful picture of the cross of our Christ. When Moses threw in this tree, the tree soaked up all the bitterness of the water and then the waters were sweet to drink. On the cross, on that cursed tree, Jesus Christ took upon Himself all our sin, all our hurts, all our failures, all our bitterness, “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24). 

The Scripture goes on to say in Exodus 15:25 that it was here at Marah that the Lord made a statute and regulation to the people. It is here that He begins to teach them how they are to walk with Him. It is here at the waters of Marah that the Lord tests them. My friend God does not tempt us, but He does test us. The test is not for Him, the test is for us, so that we may know our hearts and learn if we really trust the One we claim to serve? 

The Lord then says “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.” (Exodus 15:26).  

*If you write in your Bible, underline this verse for we have just been introduced to another name of our God, Jehovah-rapha, the Lord is our Healer.  

We also need to underline “if you will.” This goes back to the test and the question of trust in the Lord our Healer. For without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). And my friend let others say what they may, but our obedience to God’s commands proves our faith in Him. If we refuse to walk according to His Word, then we do not trust Him, and He is under no obligation to heal us of anything.

 Jesus tells us in John 14:23 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;…” In John 15:10, He says “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 that we are saved if we hold fast the gospel that has been preached to us. He shows us it is possible to believe in vain.  

Now how would we know if we have believed the gospel in vain? We cannot look into our hearts and see the seal of the Holy Spirit upon it. So how would we know, how could others know? Hebrews 3:14 declares, “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”  

It goes back to the test. It goes back to that very big word, if. “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:3) Oh precious one, from Genesis to Revelation the message has not changed. If we trust Him we will obey Him, and if we do not obey Him, we never really trusted Him at all. We simply were just following the crowd. 

 

Oh Father,


I can look at these people who have just witnessed Your awesome acts and yet now fear death from lack of being able to see water and I could judge them for their lack of faith, but then I look at myself. I realize that I have responded the same way many times before. Forgive me for the times that I have grumbled in the moment of testing. How quickly we can forget all that You have done and doubt Your love and even Your very existance. Thank You, Father, for being a God who is longsuffering and has everlasting lovingkindness. You are the LORD my God, and when my times of testing come, may I respond in obedience to Your Word. May I show my love for You and prove to myself that I am indeed Your child and that I have not just followed the crowd. How thankful I am that proof is found in repentance not perfection.


My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,

Amen 

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Sing Sing Sing

 

 
Then Moses and the sons of Israel
sang this song to the LORD…
Exodus 15:1

 

The children of Israel have just experienced the deliverance of God. They have walked across the Red Sea on dry land. They have passed through the parted sea as the waters were rolled up as walls on each side of them while Pharaoh and his armies were coming up behind them. The children of Israel have watched the Lord release the sea and they have seen the waters come crashing down upon their pursuers. Now the children of Israel lift their voices in song to their God.

 
Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up,
And He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness.
So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.
Then they believed His words;
They sang His praise.
Psalm 106:9-12

 

Moses leads Israel in the first worship song recorded in Scripture. Oh yes, and what a beautiful song of praise it is! Moses sings,

The LORD is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation;
this is my God,
and I will praise Him;
Exodus 15:2

 

He goes on to sing how the Lord is a warrior and he reminds us that the LORD is His name (Exodus 15:3). The word Lord in Exodus 15:3 is in all caps because in the Hebrew it is Yehovah. The word Yehovah is derived from the word hayah which means to exist, to be.

Moses is taking us all the way back to the burning bush when he asked God what he should tell Israel when they asked the name of the God who sent him. “God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM; and He said ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14). Do you remember all the names of the false gods that we looked at as we read through the plagues? Does not this question that Moses asks before this burning bush take on a whole new depth with that knowledge?

Moses goes on to sing in Exodus 15:11, “Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders.” Oh precious one, who is like our Creator God? Let us remember what he has done! Let us remember who He is!

Moses sings this song and it is a song that will be sang from generation to generation. It is a song to remind the people of the greatness of the arm of their Redeemer. A song to remind them of His lovingkindness and His strength. A song to remind them that they have a God that they do not have to fight for, but a God that tells them to keep silent as He fights for them. It is a song to remind them that their God is the LORD, and He shall reign forever and ever.

This song that Moses sings will be sang even until the end of the age. “And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God…” (Revelation 15:3).
Are you praising him yet?

Oh Father,

How great and awesome You are. My God I give You praise. I stand before You with my arms lifted high and my voice singing of Your mighty acts. You are my Deliverer, my Redeemer, my Warrior, You are! I shall sing this song of Moses and remember all that You have done. I shall sing the song of the Lamb, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Who will not fear and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:3-4).

My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,
Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

The Lord Will Fight For You

 
But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear!
Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD
which He will accomplish for you today;
for the Egyptians whom you have seen today,
you will never see them again forever.
The LORD will fight for you
while you keep silent. 
Exodus 14:13-14
 
The children of Israel have gone out boldly from Egypt (Exodus 14:8) however Pharaoh still pursues them. Yes, the children of Israel had been redeemed. Yes, they had been set free from their slavery. Yet still, the one who once held them in captivity still chases after them in order to enslave them again.
 
As I read this chapter in Exodus I am reminded of the verse “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8).
 
Even after our redemption in Christ, even after our being set free from the slavery chains of sin, the one who once held us captive by our fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15) still chases after us. He still seeks to deceive us and enslave us once again. He still gathers his army and pursues us with a vengeance.
 
Moses turned to the people and he commanded them to not fear. God continues to give us this command today. Jesus tells us in John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
 
When Jesus is praying on our behalf in John 17, He asks the Father to not take us from the world but to keep us from the evil one and He asks that we be sanctified by the Word of truth.
 
The Word of God is what sets us apart from the world. The Word of God is our strength. Obedience to the Word of God is our only weapon against the evil one. The Word of God is the Lord fighting for us. We speak it and trust Him and keep our own thoughts and words silent and victory will come on our behalf for His glory.
 
Our Creator is a God of action. He is living and active and involved with our lives. Just look at the action verbs we discover that follow references to the Lord in Exodus 14 alone. In verse one we see that the Lord spoke. In verse four we see that He hardens and we once again see the phrase “I am the LORD”.
 
I love when God reminds us who He is.
 
In verse thirteen we see that the Lord will accomplish. In verse fourteen the Lord will fight. Then in verse fifteen we see that the Lord said. In verse nineteen the Lord moved and in verse twenty-one He swept the sea back. In verse twenty-four we read that He looked and that He brought and in verse twenty-five He caused and He made and He is fighting for the children of Israel. In verse twenty-six we see that once again He said and in verse twenty-seven we read that He overthrew the Egyptians. Finally in verse thirty we read that He saved Israel that day.
 
This is our God fighting for us. This is our living and active Creator God. He fought on behalf of His children then and He fights on behalf of His children still.              
 
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Put on the full armor of God,
so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God,
so that you will be able to resist in the evil day,
and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth,
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith
with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 
Ephesians 6:10-17
 
This, my friend, is the armor of God. Did you notice that He has us covered from head to toe. Not only head to toe but as we look at 1 John 4:4 we see that He has us covered inside and out, “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
 
Oh precious one, doesn’t this just make you want to shout out a hallelujah? My friend let’s praise the Lord who fights for us, let us fear His holy name and believe His word and trust in the One He sent to lead us into the promised land.
 
Oh Father,
 
How thankful I am that I am Your child. You word says in Romans 8:14-15 that all who are being led by the Spirit of God, are sons of God. You tell me that I have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but I have received a spirit of adoption by which I may cry out, “Abba! Father!” My Abba, I love You. I will honor and respect Your holy name. I will believe in You and trust in Your Word for I know that You will fight for me. You are in me and with me and you go before me and behind me. Oh how I praise You, my Creator God.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Vessels of Mercy

 
Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,
and he will chase after them;
and I will be honored through Pharaoh
and all his army,
and the Egyptians will know
that I am the LORD. 
Exodus 14:4
 
How could God possibly be honored through Pharaoh and his army? This Pharaoh rejects the God of the Hebrews. This Pharaoh refuses to bow to the Lord and refuses to honor His word. This Pharaoh mocks the Lord and afflicts the ones who serve Him. So how can someone who so openly dishonors God before men be used by God to bring honor to God before an entire nation?
 
What we must understand is that God is absolute truth. His Word is absolute truth. Psalm 46:10 declares “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” God will be exalted, He will be honored. We will prove His Word through the blessings of obedience or through the curses of disobedience, either way He is honored and the truth of His Word is confirmed before all.
 
Pharaoh gathers his army and he pursues Moses and the children of Israel in order to bring them back into slavery. Exodus 14:8 tells us that the children of Israel are “going out boldly.” Yet Pharaoh is chasing after them. I am sure that, as we say in the South, he is madder than a hornet. His heart is hard and it is full of rage.
 
Does it perplex you to think of how this man and this nation could choose to chase after these people after they had experienced the awesome power of their God? If this perplexes you, then take a look at Revelation 20:7-9.
 
When the thousand years are completed,
Satan will be released from his prison,
and will come out to deceive the nations
which are in the four corners of the earth,
Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war;
the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.
And they came up on the broad plain of the earth
and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city,
and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
 
This battle comes after the world has experienced the righteous reign of Jesus Christ for a thousand years. The devil is in prison, so therefore, the popular and comical excuse that “the devil made me do it” no longer exists. Yet at the devils release he is able to gather an army to pursue the people of God. We don’t need the devil to build within ourselves rebellion against the truth of God.
 
Oh precious one, this is the result of hard hearts.      
 
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is a topic that brings much debate. Many see this as proof that God has already decided who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. Some read verses like Romans 9:17-18 “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.’ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”  and see Pharaoh as an example of God manipulating our hearts and not allowing us free will. However, this is far from the truth.
 
As we go further into Romans 9 we read, “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,” (Romans 9:22-23). On a casual glance at this passage of Scripture most would come to the conclusion that God has already decided who will be destroyed and who will see glory.
 
Now let’s get past a casual glance at God’s Word and lets move into an intimate one.
 
The word “prepared” in Romans 9:22 in the Greek is katartizo and it means to complete thoroughly. The statement “prepared for destruction” means that these vessels have already fitted themselves for destruction. Through their actions and their choices they have made themselves ready for destruction. They have been exposed to the truth of God the same as everyone else. Yet, they have over and over again refused to submit to the truth.
 
You might be thinking now, “Well Pharaoh only had ten chances to submit to God, is that really fair?” The answer to that is, yes, because he actually had a lifetime of chances. Romans 1:19-20 tells us that God has made Himself evident to all of us. He has made Himself evident within us and He has openly displayed His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and His divine nature through His creation. Pharaoh had all of this on top of the ten plagues. Oh precious one, he was indeed without excuse, as are we.
 
When we take the time to seek out God, to interpret His Word through His character, and when we choose to put some effort in the relationship and dig a little deeper we discover amazing things. God does not create just to destroy. No man has ever been created for destruction, however many have chosen to continue on the path of destruction that we all are on because of sin. Sin that we chose to bring upon ourselves.
 
We must go back to the garden. Adam and Eve were created eternal beings in perfect fellowship with their Creator, but they chose to listen to the lie of the serpent and they brought death upon themselves, their children, and the world. Yet God in His great mercy has prepared for us a way of salvation.    
 
In Romans 9:22-23 we see that God endures the vessels of wrath with much patience in order “to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy.” God endured Pharaoh’s rebellion with patience so that He could make clear to all that He offered mercy. God simply used Pharaoh as He found him. The Scripture said that God raised him up, it did not say that He created him for.
 
My friend do not forget how God made a distinction in the land of Egypt when He began protecting the land of Goshen from the last seven plagues. His mercy was clearly displayed to the entire nation. All one had to do was move to Goshen. All one had to do was choose “to endure ill-treatment with the people of God” (Hebrews 11:25).
 
God is soveriegn in salvation but we also have a responsibility. Each time we refuse the mercy of our Creator our hearts grow a little harder. The harder our hearts become the more prepared for destruction we become. We are all born vessels of wrath but God sent His Word, His judgments, His Son, and His Holy Spirit so that we might become vessels of mercy. We must cease striving, stop fighting against the truth that has been clearly revealed, and know that He is God.
 
Know that He will be honored either through vessels of wrath or vessels of mercy. He is the potter and we are the clay. He has every right to destroy us all, yet He offers us redemption instead. There was darkness in Egypt, but there remained light in Goshen.
 
 
Oh Father,
 
You are worthy of all honor. You are worthy of all praise. Thank You for Your patient enduring of my sin. Thank You for allowing me to experience the consequences of sin. Through the curses found in disobedience to Your Word I was able to clearly see the blessings that come with obedience. The greatest blessing being Your mercy. Mercy that knows that I have been a vessel of wrath, fitting myself for destruction by my rebellion to Your truth, but now through the forgiveness of my sins, through the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, I am a vessel of mercy prepared for glory.    
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name that I pray,
Amen
 
 
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Free to Serve

 
Moses said to the people,
‘Remember this day
in which you went out from Egypt,
from the house of slavery;
for by a powerful hand
the LORD brought you out from this place.
And nothing leavened shall be eaten.’ 
Exodus 13:3
 
When the Lord brought the people out of Egypt, out of their slavery, one of the first things he did was to command Moses to sanctify to the LORD the firstborn of every womb, both man and beast. He then told Moses to remind the people of the Passover and to command them to keep it.
 
Why was God so quick to grab the attention of the people?
Oh precious one, the answer to that is- because He knows us.
 
These people had been in bondage for 400 years. These people had never known freedom. What God knew was that too much freedom too fast can destroy. What we also have to understand is that God did not just set these people free, He “redeemed” them.
 
This word redeem in the Hebrew is ga’al. It means to purchase, to ransom, to buy back. God did not just set them free to run wild and live life in their own way. He redeemed them from their slavery to Pharaoh so that they could freely serve Him. The people no longer belonged to Pharaoh, but they did, however, still belong to someone. They now belonged to God.
 
This is true in our salvation as well. In 1 Corinthians 6:20 the Word declares, “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” If you are a born again believer, a Christ follower, then you’re freedom came with a price.
 
In 1 Peter 1:18 we read that we were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ. In the Greek the word redeemed is lutroo and it means to ransom. It comes from the word lutron which means to loosen with a redemption price. Just as the children of Israel were redeemed by God so are we. Just as the children of Israel were not set free to run wild and live to themselves, neither are we.
 
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience,
you are slaves of the one whom you obey,
either of sin resulting in death,
or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin,
you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.
For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness,
resulting in further lawlessness,
so now present your members as slaves to righteousness,
resulting in sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Therefore what benefit were you deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed?
For the outcome of those things is death.
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God,
you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification,
and the outcome, eternal life. 
Romans 6:16-22
 
Oh precious one, yes, in Christ you were set free, and “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) You are freed from sin’s penalty and freed from sin’s power and you now have the hope of one day being freed from sin’s presence. The serpent of old no longer can hold fear of death over your head. You are no longer a slave to sin.
 
However, this does not mean that you are now without a master.
 
Romans 10:9 declares “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” A prerequisite to salvation is confessing Jesus as Lord. The word Lord in the Greek is kurios and it means supreme in authority, controller, master.
 
As it says in the above passage of Romans 6:16-22, you were freed from sin but you became slaves of righteousness. You were freed from sin but enslaved to God. You are not without a master. You were not set free to live life your own way, you were set free to freely serve your Creator God.
 
God instituted the Passover and commanded the children of Israel to observe it for at least two reasons:
one– so that they would never forget how He had redeemed them from Pharaoh and how He had brought them out of Egypt,
and
two– so that He might point them to the final Passover lamb, Jesus the One and Only Christ.
 
Even in our salvation through Christ, God has instituted a memorial and commanded us to keep it. Before Jesus went to the cross He instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. He commanded us to do this in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). We are to observe it in a worthy manner, for through it we proclaim the death of our Lord Jesus Christ until He returns again (1 Corinthians 11:23-32).    
 
 
Oh Father,
 
You are my Master. I rejoice that I am enslaved to You. I confess Jesus as my Lord, as the supreme authority in my life. What greater joy is there than to have a King who loves me so? I once was a slave to sin, my master was cruel, and he hated me. He sought only to destroy me through temptation and lies, but You my Jesus love me. How easy it is to surrender to You. I am able to serve You with gratitude. I willingly have become Your slave because I love You and I desire to please You with this life that You saved.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen   
 
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Mixed Multitude

 

A mixed multitude also went up with them,

along with flocks and herds,

a very large number of livestock. 

Exodus 12:38

 

When we read “a mixed multitude” in Scripture, our Creator is not speaking about our human label of race. Our God divides people into only two categories: 1) the righteous and 2) the sinner/wicked (Romans 5:19, Proverbs 10:32). You are either of God or of the Devil (John 8:39-47, Acts 26:18). You are either in the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13). In Ephesians 5:8 the Word of God declares, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.”

So my friend, as we look at this “mixed multitude” that walked out of Egypt and as we read and study more of Scripture, let us be sure to understand that race does not factor in with the interpretation of God’s Word. We all came forth from the same one father and the same one mother, Adam and Eve.

All flesh is not the same flesh,

but there is one flesh of men,

and another flesh of beasts,

and another flesh of birds,

and another of fish.

 1 Corinthians 15:39

We may have different nationalities according to our places of birth, but we are all the same flesh, one race. Racism is a philosophy of man. It is a means of division and deception and destruction by the one who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. Therefore it has no place among those who are of God.    

Now what we learn from Exodus 12:38 is that many of the people who lived in Egypt chose to leave with the Hebrew slaves. Some left in a new found faith, fully devoted to this God of the Hebrews. Some left because they were afraid to stay in Egypt. Some left because the Hebrews took with them most of all the valuables in Egypt.

In Exodus 12:35-36 we read, “Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.” So the “mixed multitude” that journeys from Rameses to Succoth was a mixture of heart devotions to the One True God.  

In 1 Corinthians 15:33 we read, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.” The bad company that travels out of Egypt with the Hebrews is going to bring them much grief.

The bad company that we allow in our lives will also bring us much grief. This does not mean that we must put ourselves in a Christian bubble, to do so would be impossible. However we must be wise in our choosing of intimate friends. We must be wise in our choosing of those who we allow to influence us. The bad company that corrupts our good morals are usually not the lost, but those who claim to be saved. The apostle Paul speaks a great deal on this subject.

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;

I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world,

or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters,

for then you would have to go out of the world.

But actually, I wrote to you

not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person,

or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-

not even to eat with such a one.

For what have I to do with judging outsiders?

Do you not judge those who are within the church?

But those who are outside, God judges.

REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13  

Our Savior also addresses this in His letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. Jesus rebukes the church of Pergamum and the church of Thyatira for tolerating false teachers and immoral persons in the church. In His word to the churches, Jesus did not call those who tolerated sin in the church overcomers. Yes, we are to tolerate weakness in faith among those who are our brethren in Christ (Romans 14:1-4). However, we are not to tolerate sin.

My friend, toleration of sin is not an act of love. It is not a display of compassion. It is giving “hearty approval” (Romans 1:32) to the things which lead to death. It is like seeing a child who appears to be having a fun time playing in the middle of the interstate and walking away and allowing him to stay because you do not want to hurt his feelings in making him move, or you do not want to offend his parents by stepping up and taking action in their stead, even though the diesal truck is coming around the bend.

Oh precious one, will you be one who overcomes?

Will you be one who refuses to compromise the Word of Truth?

Will you be one who is not afraid of standing for righteousness?

Will you be one who displays true love and compassion by being willing to run out in the middle of the road and snatch the playing child from death?

It is possible to speak the truth and call sin a sin and do it in love and with grace and mercy. We are to be salt and light in this world. Salt sometimes burns and light sometimes is so bright we have to look away, but still it is needed. That burning salt still heals wounds and that blinding light is still the way out of the darkness. 

Will you be one who refuses to be influenced by those who are not whole hearted in their devotion to God?

Some follow Christ because they have a new found faith in Him and are fully devoted to God. Some follow Him because they are afraid of the world. Some follow Him because they think with Him comes health, wealth, and prosperity. Our churches are full of a mixture of heart devotions to the One True God. The question is why have you followed Him and where is your heart’s devotion?

Oh Father,

May I not succomb to the world’s view of compassion and love. May I display love and compassion in accordance with Your Word. May I walk in the footsteps of Christ and follow His example. May I not be afraid to call sin what it is. May I not be controlled by a fear of offending others or by guilt from feelings hurt. I do not want to be one who gives hearty approval to someone’s actions when I know these actions lead to death. I am to be a guide to life. Keep my eyes open that I might not be influenced by those who do not serve You out of a devoted heart. May I be salt that has not lost it’s flavor or it’s sting and light that shines bright because it is not shadowed by doubt. 

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Given Every Opportunity

Now it came about at midnight
that the LORD struck all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt,
from the firstborn of Pharaoh
who sat on his throne
to the firstborn of the captive
who was in the dungeon,
and all the firstborn cattle. 
Exodus 12:29
 
The LORD has once again done just as He said He would do exactly when He said He would do it. Our God is always true to His Word. You may read this and think for a moment that God is cruel. The thought of a mother holding her dead son in her arms while she screams out in the night probably strikes a cord in your emotional heart. You may even feel sorry for Pharaoh, even though the death of his firstborn son was his own choosing.
 
My friend, don’t forget that all the people of Egypt now knew the power of God and the authority of His Word. In Exodus 11:3 we read, “The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.”
 
When God delivered His seventh plague of hail upon the land of Egypt we read in Exodus 9:20-21 how some of the servants of Pharaoh feared the word of the Lord and they brought their livestock inside, yet others had no regard for God’s word and they left their livestock in the fields. Oh precious one, the issue is not with God, the issue is with the hearts of these people who chose to have no regard for His word.
 
Anyone choosing to endure ill-treatment with the people of God rather than the passing pleasures of sin and the momentary pleasures of Egypt would have been spared by the blood of the lamb. They needed only to humble themselves in obedience to the Word of God. It was faith in God’s Word that moved Moses and the Hebrew slaves to keep the Passover (Hebrews 11:24-28). Anyone with the faith to keep it and observe it that night would have been saved.
 
There is a passage in the book of Job that describes this night perfectly. It is believed that the book of Job was written before the time of Abraham or during it. We know it is post-flood by the references to weather and post Tower of Babel by the references to kings and nations. However, it is very possible that is pre-Abraham because there is no reference to Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob or the nation of Israel.
 
Possibly even this passage of Scripture could be a foreshadowing of this night, but I also believe it is the standard of judgment that God will bring upon any nation whose leaders continually refuse to obey His Word.
   
But if you have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words.
“Shall one who hates justice rule?
And will you condemn the righteous mighty One,
Who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;
Who shows no partiality to princes
Nor regards the rich above the poor,
For they all are the work of His hands?
In a moment they die, and at midnight
People are shaken and pass away,
And the mighty are taken away without a hand.
 
For His eyes are upon the ways of a man,
And He sees all his steps.
There is no darkness or deep shadow
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
For He does not need to consider a man further,
That he should go before God in judgment.
He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry,
And sets others in their place.
Therefore He knows there works,
And He overthrows them in the night,
And they are crushed.
He strikes them like the wicked
In a public place,
Because they turned aside from following Him,
And had no regard for any of His ways;
So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him,
And that He might hear the cry of the afflicted-
When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?
And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him,
That is, in regard to both nation and man?-
So that godless men would not rule
Nor be snares of the people.”
Job 34:16-30
 
Elihu speaks these words to Job as he struggles with the pain of current circumstances that he just does not understand. He speaks these words to Job, but he also speaks them to us. 
 
My friend, if you struggle with this tenth plague as you consider the magnitude of the moment in its reality, do not forget that our God has given all ample time to turn and trust in Him. If you are honest with yourself you will have to admit that He has been much more patient than either you or I would have been.    
 
 
Oh Father,
 
You are God and there is no other. You are so patient with us. You give us every opportunity to submit to Your authority, to regard Your Word, but there comes a time that judgment must fall. You are a just God. You watch all our ways. Your eyes are upon us. My Jesus You are my Lord, my King. It is to You that I bow. Help me Father to always have the strength to choose the ill-treatment with the people of God rather than the momentary comforts of the world. I am so thankful that You judge godless men who sit in positions of leadership. Thank You that You will only allow a wicked ruler the throne for so long before You remove his power. How thankful I am that You are my God, and You are soveriegn over every throne!
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Leave Nothing Until Morning

 

The blood shall be a sign for you

on the houses where you live;

and when I see the blood I will pass over you,

and no plague will befall you to destroy you

when I strike the land of Egypt.  

Exodus 12:13

 

In Genesis 3:21 we read that “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.”  These garments were made after the fall of man. To make garments of skin an animal must die. This animal’s blood was shed to cover the sin of Adam and Eve.

When Cain slew Abel in Genesis 4 God said, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.“ Blood has a voice to our God.

In Genesis 9:4 when Noah and his family finally stepped out of the ark, God gave them permission to eat meat. However He said,”Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” Blood had a voice to our God because the blood is the life. Our Creator has always placed a very high value on blood.

When the children of Israel receive the commandments and precepts of God He tells them in Leviticus 3:17, “It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.” Blood was not to be consumed as some common piece of fruit. It was not to enter inside the filth of our digestive system to be broken down and then exit with our excrement. Blood was life and life is precious.  

Now here in Exodus God institutes the Passover. In this Passover the children of Israel were to take for themselves an unblemished lamb and they were to slay it. They were to take the blood of the slain lamb and place it over the lintel and the doorpost of their house. God declared that when He saw the blood the death angel would pass over their home. It was only by the blood that they could be saved. They were not saved by consuming the blood, but by being covered with the blood.

The Passover was to be a memorial to the children of Israel for them to observe every year, from generation to generation. They were never to forget how the LORD had redeemed them from their slavery in Egypt. They were to tell their children and their children’s children and in their telling they would also be reminding themselves of this great deliverance.

They were to observe this rite, because this memory of redemption by the blood of the lamb, would point them to the One of whom John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

There was one day to be a Lamb slain, that would be the final lamb. The blood of this Lamb would not cover the lintel and doorpost of man-made dwellings, but this Lamb’s blood would cover the lintel and doorpost of the God-made human heart, and it would be placed there by God Himself.

This Passover Lamb was to be slain, the blood placed on the door of the home, and it was to be eaten that same night. It was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. None of it was to be left until morning. Whatever they were unable to eat was to be burned with fire.

In Romans 12:1 Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, writes, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Jesus became a sacrifice for us. He was the lamb who was slain for our sins. His blood, is the precious blood, that covers the door of our heart. He was sinless, innocent, had done no wrong, yet He took our punishment, our sin upon Himself. He went through much suffering, endured much bitterness and hatred, yet never became bitter Himself. He gave all of Himself, He left nothing until morning.

Oh precious one, does He not deserve the same from us.

Have you presented your body as a living sacrifice to him? 

Are you willing to suffer for His sake as He suffered for yours?

For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake,

not only to believe in Him,

but also to suffer for His sake,

Philippians 1:29

Is death working in you so that life might be brought to others (2 Corinthians 4:12)?

Is your life filled with old leaven, with sin, that you are still consuming?        

Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?

Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump,

just as you are in fact unleavened.

For Christ our Passover also has been sanctified.

Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven,

nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness,

but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Are you ready my friend, to take this Lamb of God that has been sacrificed for your redemption, for your deliverance and eat all of Him. You must eat Him with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth and the bitter herbs of suffering for His sake. You must take all of Him and leave none of Him until morning. You can’t pick and choose which parts of Christ to consume, you must consume all of Him at one time.

Now you shall eat it in this manner:

with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet,

and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste-

it is the LORD’s Passover.

Exodus 12:11

My friend, does the precious blood of Christ cover the door of your heart?

When the day of the great judgment, the final plague, came upon Egypt it was only those who had the blood of the lamb on their door that were spared. When the great day of the wrath of God comes upon the whole earth it will only be those who are covered in the blood of the Lamb of God that are spared (1 Thessalonians 1:10). I believe this is one of the main reasons why blood has always been so very precious to our Creator.        

Oh Father,

I count it all joy to be able to call You Father. My Jesus, thank You for the blood You shed to give me life. Thank You for the hope that I have in You. I offer my body to You as a living sacrifice. Make me acceptable to You. Take whatever is in me that cannot be used and burn it with Your consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). I desire for nothing to be left over until morning. I desire to give You my all. My loins are girded, sandles are on my feet, and my staff is my hand. I am ready to go (Matthew 28:19-20) as You have commanded. Use me, my God, all of me. Make me ready, for the glory of my Christ and His kingdom. 

My Jesus, it’s in Your name I pray,

Amen