June 10 - ADJUSTMENTS - Exodus 15:1-2

¹ Then Moses and the Israelites

sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,

for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
² The Lord is my strength and my might,

and he has become my salvation

Exodus 15

 

When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, what’d they do?

 

They worshipped!

 

They sang praise! “I will sing to the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously!”

 

And … they proclaimed truth:

 

“The Lord is my strength.” That’s true! Is it true for you? Powerfully? Personally?

 

“The Lord is … my might.” That’s true too. God is powerful. But is it true for you? When we personally believe this, we have strength … even in the midst of trials.

 

But what I like best is their next proclamation: “He has become my salvation.” I love the honesty! They are saying, “God is definitely salvation, but there was a time when he wasn’t.”

 

We trust in all kinds of other things, but when “the Lord … become[s our] salvation” we realize the power and protection that is with us already and anyway.

 

Has “the Lord … become [your] salvation”? What adjustments do you need to access this gift? What parts of your heart do you have to surrender in order to get there?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who is a

powerful surrenderer

 

June 9 - FEAR - Exodus 14:10-11

¹⁰ As Pharaoh drew near,

the Israelites looked back,

and there were the Egyptians

advancing on them.

In great fear the Israelites

… ¹¹ said to Moses,

“Was it because there

were no graves in Egypt

that you have taken us away

to die in the wilderness?”

Exodus 14

 

Do you know the most important of the quote above? It is perhaps what I left out – see the three dots.

 

Why did I leave out a few words?

 

Because this – as I’ve presented it here – is how I’ve always heard this verse.

 

When we have “fear,” how many of us act badly?! We worry. We complain. Instead of looking up and trusting in God, we look down. We rely on self. We depend on human solutions. Yes, when we focus on whatever form of the Egyptian Army is advancing on us, we act badly.

 

Isn’t that what we see in words above? Pharaoh and his army advanced. The people were consumed with “fear.” And the people of Israel looked down, right? They complained to a human, Moses. They said that they wanted to return to the past. But the past was nothing more than the illusion of “better.” It had really been bondage. Slavery. They didn’t really want to go backward, but fear makes us say and do stupid things. (Have you ever been there? I sure have.)

 

But before they acted badly, do you know what they did first? Indeed, do you know what those three dots above represent?

 

Well, let me tell you what I intentionally left out. And we must do this by remembering our pattern …

 

·         The first step is to REALIZE that we are in trouble … and the Israelites were. The Egyptian army was bearing down of them.

 

·         The second step is to CRY OUT … and that’s exactly what the Israelites did! That’s what those three dots represent. Verse 11 admits that yes, there was “great fear,” yet “in [their] great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord.” That’s the dots. And in that cry was the beginning of freedom!

 

·         And it was after they cried out, that THE DELIVERER acted. Yes, God parted the Red Sea, but I love how Moses described what would happen. He said, “¹³ Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today ...¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

 

I love the power and trust in those words of Moses. He’s surely looking up! But I love even more the character of Moses. The people complain against him, and because his trust is upward in the Lord (rather than downward in the opinions of man).

 

·         Finally, then, THE JOURNEY began. It wouldn’t be easy. They’d have to step first between two towering walls of water as the sea was parted. That too was scary, but their alternative was Pharaoh and death on one side of the sea, while God and freedom waited on the other.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who needs to

quit making mental …’s

and missing God’s point

 

June 8 - DENIAL - Exodus 13:18

The Israelites went up

out of the land of Egypt

prepared for battle.

Exodus 13:18

 

We are now on THE JOURNEY to freedom. We called this the fourth of four steps. But it’s time to start counting again. The first thing we need to do on the journey is to RECOGNIZE our starting point; then we’ll hope to discover where we’re going.

 

What is your starting point? What are you enslaved to?

 

Israel’s starting point was Egypt. Their bondage was caused by literal slavery. For them, it was taskmasters and hard labor.

 

But it was more than that. Even once they escaped their literal taskmasters, they still had to deal with many external obstacles and many internal worries, fears, and character imperfections.

 

Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll keep reading the story of the Exodus. We want to get to the Promised Land, but our goal along the way is to discover – and defeat – some of the things that continually enslave humans like you, me, Moses, and the people of Israel.

 

We’d like to think leaving Egypt is the full extent of our journey. No! It’s just the beginning. We must RECOGNIZE the full extent of our bondage – and defeat it – before we can become truly free.

 

And the first of the battle occurs in Exodus 13. They exited Egypt in Exodus 12 and by the next chapter, they were already forced to recognize resistance. And yet they were ready! Scripture says that “13:18 The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle.”

 

To make it from “your Egypt” to “your Promised Land,” you will have to trespass over lots of lands held by foreign nations. You will have to traverse enemy territory. And it won’t be easy! But I love how they started. It says, “the Israelites went … prepared for battle.”

 

They were realistic. Are you?

 

Your journey will be a battle. And the first obstacle is DENIAL. (And no, “de’ Nile” is not just a river in Egypt.) Denial is our first potential obstacle. Our first barrier is being UNPREPARED.

 

But they passed this initial hurdle magnificently. So what does this story teach us about succeeding in the journey?

 

1.    If you pay attention, God will lead you. Scripture says, “13:21 The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light …” God will surely guide you in different ways. (I haven’t seen many beckoning clouds lately.) Nevertheless, if you look, listen, pay closer attention, read scripture (the clearest form of God’s voice), and pray, you will find that God is clearly leading you too.

 

2.       If you trust, God will lead you safely. A day or two ago, I cited on of my favorite passages from the Exodus. In the verses just before our verse of the day we hear, “13:17-18 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, ‘If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people by the roundabout way …” Do you trust God to lead you, even if he seems to want to take you in a roundabout direction? His way is the best way, but you must trust his leading. Indeed, we’d do well to be like Ruth who said to Naomi, “Where you go, I will go; where you stay, I will stay.” (Ruth 1:16 – and as the song based on this verse concludes: “I will trust in you.”)

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who usually

goes the rough

and roundabout way

when he does it himself

(God’s way is more

scenic and safer)

 

June 7 - Day 11 - Exodus 12:35

³⁰ Pharaoh arose in the night …

and there was a loud cry in Egypt … 

³¹ Then he summoned Moses … and said,

“Rise up, go away from my people …

Go, worship the Lord … 

³² Take your flocks and your herds

… and be gone …” ³⁴ So the people took

their dough before it was leavened …

³⁵ [A]s Moses told them … they had asked

the Egyptians for jewelry of silver and gold …

³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses

to Succoth, about six hundred thousand

men on foot, besides children.

⁴⁰ The time that the Israelites had lived

in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.

Exodus 12

 

Israel was enslaved in Egypt. God acted powerfully on their behalf, but their freedom still required their journey.

 

Our freedom requires a JOURNEY too. And yesterday, we ended with this acknowledgement: The journey to freedom can be hard. It takes commitment and effort. Don’t turn back! Keep remembering that the God who cut the chains in Egypt and journeyed with them powerfully all the way to the Promised Land, is available to journey powerfully with you too.

 

Did you notice the key word in that passage? It’s “remembering.”

 

God knows that “remembering” is a powerful, freeing word. That’s why in even before rescuing the Israelites, God established the Passover as “^12:24 a perpetual ordinance.”

 

He said, “^12:26 And when [and when you do this year after year after year, and when] your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this observance?’ ²⁷ you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt [and] spared our houses.’”

 

“Remembering.” God was teaching a powerful lesson:

 

If you’re not remembering

God’s power to deliver, then

you’ll be a permanent slave.

 

You’ll say the journey is too hard. You’ll want to go back to the familiar bondages in your personal Egypt. You’ll fall in despair … rather than stand in hope. You’ll act on fear … rather than venture bravely in trust. You’ll give up in defeat … rather than experience the freedom of God’s victory.

 

Look at the passage above, and remember the generous provision of God in setting us free:

 

·         You get to escape your Pharaoh (and whatever is enslaving you). God takes the initiative. He is kicking open the door to freedom!

 

·         You get to keep your godly assets. Whatever is godly and helpful in your life – your “flocks and herds” – get to come with you!

 

·         Furthermore, God promises to enrich you further. Indeed, he allows you to take treasures from what you’re escaping. Yes, the enslavement in Egypt was hard. (Yes, some of your enslavements are cruel and abusive.) But when you leave with God, he allows you to take Egypt’s “³⁶ silver and gold” and “³⁶ plunder.” At the very least we learn from our experiences, and come out wiser and stronger. But it’s more than that! We are invited to carry away plunder from our experiences! When we choose to lay down our unforgiveness, bitterness, and defeat, we become the rich ones (and it’s our tormentors who are truly impoverished).

 

·         The future blessings will be greater than what you’re seeing at the moment. The Israelites escaped so hurriedly that they didn’t have time to leaven the bread. Their first taste of freedom was eating the unrisen, unleavened cakes (v. 39). It was a small victory at first. But there would come a future day when they would feast on risen bread … and milk and honey. That’s the way freedom truly works. Each journey to newly freed territory is a foretaste of the greater feast that God promises for our lives.

 

·         Pharaoh won’t just send you out saying, “Go”; under God’s provision, you’ll be sent forth to experience the fullest expression of freedom: “Go, worship the Lord”!

 

It’s tempting to stay in bondage. It’s tempting to try, struggle, and want to head back to Egypt. But I want to escape Pharaoh and take his plunder. I want to keep what’s good, and add what’s better. And most of all, I want the joyful freedom of worshiping the one who sets me free.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants

to say, “Arrr!”

(I want to plunder

Satan and Pharaoh

and live a life that is

rich and free)

 

June 6 - Day 10 - Exodus 12:32-33

³⁰ Pharaoh arose in the night …

and there was a loud cry in Egypt … 

³¹ Then he summoned Moses … and said,

“Rise up, go away from my people …

Go, worship the Lord … 

³² Take your flocks and your herds

… and be gone …” ³⁴ So the people took

their dough before it was leavened …

³⁵ [A]s Moses told them … they had asked

the Egyptians for jewelry of silver and gold …

³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses

to Succoth, about six hundred thousand

men on foot, besides children.

⁴⁰ The time that the Israelites had lived

in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.

Exodus 12

 

Step Four to freedom is THE JOURNEY.

 

That’s what we talked about yesterday … and as we said yesterday, we all really wanted step four to be a magic wand, didn’t we?! “We have Jesus – the Deliverer – shouldn’t we now be instantly free?”

 

Yes, our victory is won … but we all know instinctively that we have to walk it out.

 

Now, it can take just forty days to start a new habit and taste the fruit of the Promised Land – that’s about how long it could have taken to journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Instead they stayed in the wilderness for forty years.

 

That was yesterday’s message: Don’t be a hapless wanderer! It’s your choice! You can choose to stay in bondage – refusing to take the journey because it might be hard. Or … you can believe that the God who rescued Israel will help rescue you.

 

And that’s today’s message.

 

I know that freedom isn’t easy. And so do you.

 

In fact, I know all the big and little barriers to freedom. I’ve tripped over most of them. You know them too. But – here’s the good news – the Lord who ultimately delivered Israel victoriously from Egypt, knows them too … and will help you fight through them!

 

Your barriers to freedom are the same as the Israelites …

 

·         They rebelled. As you’re breaking free, some corners of your heart will rebel too. Keep marching. And keep trusting. Remember: if God stuck with Israel, he’ll continually stick with you.

 

·         They complained. A lot. Nevertheless, God still stuck with them. Indeed, it was often when he heard even their cries (grateful or ungrateful) that he fed them with manna from heaven and water from a rock. Thanksgiving is a much more powerful cry than complaint, but don’t be afraid to tell God how hard the journey is … and then watch for his provision.

 

·         They thought they knew better. Be honest … so do you. You’re going to want to do this “freedom thing” your way. Fortunately, God is patient. When you fall and flail – and finally turn to him for help – that is when he’ll pick you up and help deliver you.

 

·         They made golden idols and worshiped false gods. And you’ll be tempted to turn to false answers to deliver you too. It hurts God. It angers him. But he still stuck by his promises and he’ll stick by you.

 

·         They were unprepared for obstacles. One of my favorite verses along the journey is Exodus 13:17-18a – “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, ‘If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people by the roundabout way …” Your journey to freedom may be a straight line; nevertheless, trust God to lead you correctly. (And by the way, when the going gets toughest, trust God to fight for you. He did that plenty for the Israelites too.)

 

·         They wanted to turn back. In moments of difficulty along this journey, you’ll likely cry like Israel, “^16:3 If only we [stayed …] in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpot and ate our fill of the bread.” They would have traded a future flowing with milk and honey for the ease of turning back – forgetting the bondage that once held them. Refuse the easy path back to slavery. Instead, trust in God to sustain you when the going gets tough. He did it for them. He’ll do it for you.

 

The journey to freedom can be hard. It does take commitment and effort. Don’t turn back! Keep remembering that the God who cut the chains in Egypt and journeyed with them powerfully all the way to the Promised Land, is available to journey powerfully with you too.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy whose number

in football used to be “40”

(Lord, let the number of

my journey to freedom be 40

– and let it be measured

in days rather than years!)

 

 

 

 

 

June 4/5 - Day 9 - Exodus 12:31

³⁰ Pharaoh arose in the night …

and there was a loud cry in Egypt … 

³¹ Then he summoned Moses … and said,

“Rise up, go away from my people …

Go, worship the Lord … 

³² Take your flocks and your herds

… and be gone …” ³⁴ So the people took

their dough before it was leavened …

³⁵ [A]s Moses told them … they had asked

the Egyptians for jewelry of silver and gold …

³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses

to Succoth, about six hundred thousand

men on foot, besides children.

⁴⁰ The time that the Israelites had lived

in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.

Exodus 12

 

In the journey toward freedom, today is step four of four. Indeed – are you ready? – the freedom begins!

 

·         The first step is to REALIZE that you really are enslaved.

·         The second is to CRY OUT to God for help.

·         The third is to turn to and trust in THE DELIVERER.

·         And today THE JOURNEY begins.

 

Wait … what was that word? “Journey.”

 

How many of us, deep down, wanted something simpler. We wanted to be instantly fixed. We wanted to be immediately healed. We want God’s provision to be a magic wand … and we don’t want to hear that “our freedom will involve a journey”?

 

We may know it’s true. We know intellectually that we have to repent of a few sins. We know intuitively that we have to refrain from a few destructive behaviors. We know that will we have to learn to think in a few different ways if we want to get past our guilt and shame, our pride and greed, our anger or our apathy. We may have to learn to forgive the offender. We may need to work on our faith, hope, love, and trust.

 

Healing is not a magic wand.

 

It’s a journey.

 

For Israel, the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land could have taken about forty days. It took instead about forty years – and many of them didn’t make it.

 

But what’s the alternative? It’s 430 years in Egypt!

 

·         It’s time to escape permanent enslavement. Are you ready?!

 

·         It’s time to quit passing the dysfunction onto your kids and the next generations. Will you commit to a journey?

 

Admit it … You wanted step four to be a magic wand: “We have Jesus – the Deliverer – shouldn’t we now be instantly free?”

 

Yes, the victory is won … but you know instinctively that you have to walk it out. It can take just forty days to start a new habit and taste the fruit of the Promised Land … or you can keep staying in bondage. It truly is your choice.

 

But just remember this, God is powerfully beside you when you begin any Exodus journey in faith!

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who follows scouting’s

rule of the “Buddy System”

– we should always go in pairs

(It’s like Footprints in the Sand,

when God’s our partner,

he’ll carry us when

the Exodus gets hard)

 

June 3 - Day 8 - Exodus 12:3-7

³ Tell the whole congregation

of Israel ... to take a lamb ... 

⁵ without blemish ... ⁶ [and on] 

the fourteenth day of this month ...

slaughter it at twilight. ⁷ [Then]

they shall take some of the blood

and put it on the two doorposts

and the lintel of the houses ...

Exodus 12:3-7

Israel was once in bondage in Egypt. In an act of mercy, God sent to them a deliverer -- Moses. 

 

But Moses was a mortal man. He lived. He died. Thus, you and I obviously can't rely on some dead historical figure – like Moses – for our freedom.

 

Nevertheless, was God still doing something on that journey out of Egypt that pointed to the kinds of freedom that you and I could enjoy? Absolutely. Moses was a deliverer … but he was prefiguring THE DELIVERER! Here’s the pattern …

 

Freedom began for Israel after they heeded God's command and slathered their doorposts with the blood of a lamb. 

Victory comes for you and me when we "paint" the doorposts of our hearts with The Blood of The Lamb.

 

Wait. What does that mean? Well, Jesus, as you probably know, is The Lamb – "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

 

On our journey to freedom, Jesus is the third of four major steps. As we walk away from whatever enslaves us, we must 1) REALIZE that we are in bondage;

2) CRY OUT to God; and 3) trust that God does hear our cry and will provide deliverance – indeed, he has provided us with THE DELIVERER -- Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

"For freedom Christ has set us free," says Galatians 5:1, "Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

 

The yoke of slavery comes from sin and deception. True freedom comes from the true God. We must cling to God-the-Father, God-the-Son (Jesus), and God-the-Holy-Spirit.

 

What comes from our Triune Deliverer? Forgiveness of sins. The hope of heaven.

 

From our deliverer we receive the gifts of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" … and, likewise, we are delivered from slavery to its opposites -- "hatred, discouragement, anxiety, rashness, abrasiveness, greed, doubt, courseness, and impulsive behaviors."

 

Our Triune Deliverer provides us with purpose rather than meaninglessness … peace rather than guilt … light rather than sadness … and courage rather than fear. Yes, our Triune Deliverer provides.

 

If you’re enslaved, perhaps what you need most is to trust more fully in The Deliverer and paint your doorposts with The Blood of The Lamb.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who needs to

buy some blood red paint

(It’s the only color that will cover

hatred, discouragement, anxiety,

rashness, abrasiveness, greed,

doubt, courseness, and

impulsive behaviors.)

June 2 - Day 7 - Exodus 3:8

⁷ Then the Lord said [to Moses],

“I have observed the misery

of my people who are in Egypt;

I have heard their cry on

account of their taskmasters.

Indeed, I know their sufferings,

⁸ and I have come down to

deliver them from

the Egyptians …

Exodus 3

 

Do you want to be set free? It’s time to state simply what the first three steps are …

 

1.    Realize – before we can be set free, we must realize what is enslaving us.

 

2.    Cry Out – God can act however and whenever he wants. But God is a gentleman. Part of him giving us “dominion” over this world (Genesis 1:26) means that he usually waits for us to ask before he intervenes. Therefore, if you want to see God act … cry out!

 

3.    God’s Rescue Plan: The Deliverer – When God’s people are in bondage, God’s pattern for rescue and release is to provide a deliverer.

 

Yesterday, we analyzed step three. During the Exodus, Moses, of course, was God’s deliverer. He was the rescue plan for ancient Israel.

 

Now we need to ask this question: Is Moses your deliverer?

 

No!

 

You’re not a 15^th Century BC Jew with Egyptian taskmasters!

 

Indeed, if you’re reading this, you’re likely a 21^st Century AD American with your own set of enslavements.

 

In fact, if you are reading this, I hope you can say, “I am a 21^st Century Christian.” Why? Because Jesus Christ is God’s rescue plan for you and me … and our generation … and all of humanity.

 

Jesus is the Deliverer. (In fact, the New Testament calls him precisely this – see Romans 11:26, a fulfillment of the prophecies from Isaiah 59:20). And a Christian is one who believe that Jesus Christ is “the Deliverer.” A Christian is one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Indeed, a Christian is the one who trusts that Jesus died to deliver us from our bondage to sin and death, to forgive our sins and grant us everlasting life.

 

Do you believe that? Jesus is Step 3 to being set free.

 

Think about this: If you don’t have a deliverer, you’re on your own! As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:17, if Christ Jesus isn’t the victorious, risen Lord, then “you are still in your sins.” And isn’t that where you are? You are still in your anger, grief, doubt, and addictions. It’s not that you’re all bad, but you surely haven’t been able to fix your mess on your own. And while you may try a little psychology and a little will power, you are likely to remain in your bondage, shame, and helplessness, unless and until someone or something sets you free.

 

But …“if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”! (John 8:36)

 

That’s the Christian message. That’s the Christian faith. We all need a Deliverer. We all something bigger than ourselves.

 

And the Christian is simply the one who cries with hope – and growing confidence – “the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ … will turn out for my deliverance” (Philippians 1:9).

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who thinks of Jesus

like the Pizza Guy:

He Delivers!