DONNIE DAILY DELIGHTS FOR TUESDAY JANUARY 20: WORD OF WISDOM If you want a better day tomorrow, make better choices today. ___ DAILY DEVOTION Strength for the Storm We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. Endurance then develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation (Romans 5:3-5, NLT). Life is filled with storms of one kind or another. In the midst of those storms, we tend to respond as if God has somehow been caught off guard. The storm makes no sense. We cant explain why terminal illness strikes godly people. We dont understand how our strongest friends can become our fiercest critics. The anguish of a broken marriage or the overwhelming heartbreak of a prodigal child drives us to doubt Gods purpose, plan and provision. The fear of financial ruin paralyzes us. God understands. The Bible is filled with men and women who were storm survivors - people of God who endured great pain and weathered intense life storms because they chose to follow Him. The Apostle Paul, known for persecuting and murdering Christians, was forever changed when he met Jesus Christ. While God gave him a life of great power and eternal impact, it was also a life filled with great storms. Paul learned to patiently endure the troubles, hardships and calamities that came his way. Because grain was a precious food source to the Romans, threshing grain was a natural part of every day in ancient Rome. In pictures of early Rome, one man is always seen stirring up the sheaves while another rides over them in a crude cart equipped with rollers instead of wheels. Sharp stones and rough bits of iron were attached to these wheels to help separate the husks from the grain. This simple cart was called a tribulum from which we get our word tribulation. No Roman ever used his tribulum as a tool of destruction - only refinement. God uses our trials and storms as tools of refinement to build in us endurance. The word endure comes from two Greek words that when combined, give the meaning to remain under. It is the capacity to stay under the load, to remain in the circumstances without running away or looking for the easy way out. The purpose of every storm is to purify and cultivate endurance. Like Paul, we may sometimes feel as if we are being torn to pieces under the pressure of circumstances. But his challenge to the Romans compels us to re-examine our perspective and response to each storm we face. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. Endurance then develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation (Romans 5:3-5, NLT). Endurance is never passive. It is the picture of a soldier staying in the heat of the battle under terrible opposition but still pressing forward to gain the victory. There are few things that we can count on in this unpredictable life - but we can count on storms to come. We can also count on Gods continual and unfailing strength for those storms. When the hard times come and when bad things happen, we do not have to wonder where God is. Instead we can hold on to the promise that is found in Jeremiah 16:19, Lord, you are my strength, and my protection. You are a safe place for me to run in times of trouble (NLT). An old seaman once said, In fierce storms we can do but one thing. There is only one way to survive. We must put the ship in a certain position and keep her there. Richard Fuller commented on the old seamans words: This, Christian, is what you must do. Sometimes, like Paul, you can see neither sun nor stars, and no small tempest lies on you. Reason cannot help you. Past experiences give you no light. Only a single course is left. You must stay upon the Lord; and come what may -- winds, waves, cross seas, thunder, lightning, frowning rocks, roaring breakers -- no matter what, you must lash yourself to the helm and hold fast your confidence in Gods faithfulness and His everlasting love in Christ Jesus. No matter what storm rages in your life today - no matter how fierce the winds or how high the waves may be - where you are is no surprise to God. Heaven is not in a panic. Keep your gaze on Him and your glance on the raging waters. Lash yourself to Him, and He will supply everything you need to stand firm in the storm. Lets Pray Father, I am so tired of trying to weather the storms of life on my own. I need Your power and strength to face each one. Please teach me to turn to You first. Help me learn to patiently endure the hard times and honor You in the midst of them as I walk by faith. In Jesus name, Amen. ___ DAILY BIBLE READING Exodus 10-12The Message (MSG) Strike Eight: Locusts 10 1-2 God said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh. Ive made him stubborn, him and his servants, so that I can force him to look at these signs and so youll be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I toyed with the Egyptians, like a cat with a mouse; youll tell them the stories of the signs that I brought down on them, so that youll all know that I am God. 3-6 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, God, the God of the Hebrews, says, How long are you going to refuse to knuckle under? Release my people so that they can worship me. If you refuse to release my people, watch out; tomorrow Im bringing locusts into your country. Theyll cover every square inch of ground; no one will be able to see the ground. Theyll devour everything left over from the hailstorm, even the saplings out in the fields-theyll clear-cut the trees. And theyll invade your houses, filling the houses of your servants, filling every house in Egypt. Nobody will have ever seen anything like this, from the time your ancestors first set foot on this soil until today. Then he turned on his heel and left Pharaoh. 7 Pharaohs servants said to him, How long are you going to let this man harass us? Let these people go and worship their God. Cant you see that Egypt is on its last legs? 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. He said to them, Go ahead then. Go worship your God. But just who exactly is going with you? 9 Moses said, Were taking young and old, sons and daughters, flocks and herds-this is our worship-celebration of God. 10-11 He said, Id sooner send you off with Gods blessings than let you go with your children. Look, youre up to no good-its written all over your faces. Nothing doing. Just the men are going-go ahead and worship God. Thats what you want so badly. And they were thrown out of Pharaohs presence. 12 God said to Moses: Stretch your hand over Egypt and signal the locusts to cover the land of Egypt, devouring every blade of grass in the country, everything that the hail didnt get. 13 Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt. God let loose an east wind. It blew that day and night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts. 14-15 The locusts covered the country of Egypt, settling over every square inch of Egypt; the place was thick with locusts. There never was an invasion of locusts like it in the past, and never will be again. The ground was completely covered, black with locusts. They ate everything, every blade of grass, every piece of fruit, anything that the hail didnt get. Nothing left but bare trees and bare fields-not a sign of green in the whole land of Egypt. 16-17 Pharaoh had Moses and Aaron back in no time. He said, Ive sinned against your God and against you. Overlook my sin one more time. Pray to your God to get me out of this-get death out of here! 18-19 Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to God. God reversed the wind-a powerful west wind took the locusts and dumped them into the Red Sea. There wasnt a single locust left in the whole country of Egypt. 20 But God made Pharaoh stubborn as ever. He still didnt release the Israelites. Strike Nine: Darkness 21 God said to Moses: Stretch your hand to the skies. Let darkness descend on the land of Egypt-a darkness so dark you can touch it. 22-23 Moses stretched out his hand to the skies. Thick darkness descended on the land of Egypt for three days. Nobody could see anybody. For three days no one could so much as move. Except for the Israelites: they had light where they were living. 24 Pharaoh called in Moses: Go and worship God. Leave your flocks and herds behind. But go ahead and take your children. 25-26 But Moses said, You have to let us take our sacrificial animals and offerings with us so we can sacrifice them in worship to our God. Our livestock has to go with us with not a hoof left behind; they are part of the worship of our God. And we dont know just what will be needed until we get there. 27 But God kept Pharaoh stubborn as ever. He wouldnt agree to release them. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses: Get out of my sight! And watch your step. I dont want to ever see you again. If I lay eyes on you again, youre dead. 29 Moses said, Have it your way. You wont see my face again. Strike Ten: Death 11 God said to Moses: Im going to hit Pharaoh and Egypt one final time, and then hell let you go. When he releases you, that will be the end of Egypt for you; he wont be able to get rid of you fast enough. 2-3 So heres what you do. Tell the people to ask, each man from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor, for things made of silver and gold. God saw to it that the Egyptians liked the people. Also, Moses was greatly admired by the Egyptians, a respected public figure among both Pharaohs servants and the people at large. 4-7 Then Moses confronted Pharaoh: Gods Message: At midnight I will go through Egypt and every firstborn child in Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl working at her hand mill. Also the firstborn of animals. Widespread wailing will erupt all over the country, lament such as has never been and never will be again. But against the Israelites-man, woman, or animal-there wont be so much as a dogs bark, so that youll know that God makes a clear distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 Then all these servants of yours will go to their knees, begging me to leave, Leave! You and all the people who follow you! And I will most certainly leave. Moses, seething with anger, left Pharaoh. 9 God said to Moses, Pharaohs not going to listen to a thing you say so that the signs of my presence and work are going to multiply in the land of Egypt. 10 Moses and Aaron had performed all these signs in Pharaohs presence, but God turned Pharaoh more stubborn than ever-yet again he refused to release the Israelites from his land. 12 1-10 God said to Moses and Aaron while still in Egypt, This month is to be the first month of the year for you. Address the whole community of Israel; tell them that on the tenth of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one lamb to a house. If the family is too small for a lamb, then share it with a close neighbor, depending on the number of persons involved. Be mindful of how much each person will eat. Your lamb must be a healthy male, one year old; you can select it from either the sheep or the goats. Keep it penned until the fourteenth day of this month and then slaughter it-the entire community of Israel will do this-at dusk. Then take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which you will eat it. You are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire, that night, along with bread, made without yeast, and bitter herbs. Dont eat any of it raw or boiled in water; make sure its roasted-the whole animal, head, legs, and innards. Dont leave any of it until morning; if there are leftovers, burn them in the fire. 11 And here is how you are to eat it: Be fully dressed with your sandals on and your stick in your hand. Eat in a hurry; its the Passover to God. 12-13 I will go through the land of Egypt on this night and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, whether human or animal, and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am God. The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you-no disaster will touch you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14-16 This will be a memorial day for you; you will celebrate it as a festival to God down through the generations, a fixed festival celebration to be observed always. You will eat unraised bread (matzoth) for seven days: On the first day get rid of all yeast from your houses-anyone who eats anything with yeast from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. The first and the seventh days are set aside as holy; do no work on those days. Only what you have to do for meals; each person can do that. 17-20 Keep the Festival of Unraised Bread! This marks the exact day I brought you out in force from the land of Egypt. Honor the day down through your generations, a fixed festival to be observed always. In the first month, beginning on the fourteenth day at evening until the twenty-first day at evening, you are to eat unraised bread. For those seven days not a trace of yeast is to be found in your houses. Anyone, whether a visitor or a native of the land, who eats anything raised shall be cut off from the community of Israel. Dont eat anything raised. Only matzoth. 21-23 Moses assembled all the elders of Israel. He said, Select a lamb for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the bowl of blood and smear it on the lintel and on the two doorposts. No one is to leave the house until morning. God will pass through to strike Egypt down. When he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, God will pass over the doorway; he wont let the destroyer enter your house to strike you down with ruin. 24-27 Keep this word. Its the law for you and your children, forever. When you enter the land which God will give you as he promised, keep doing this. And when your children say to you, Why are we doing this? tell them: Its the Passover-sacrifice to God who passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt when he hit Egypt with death but rescued us. The people bowed and worshiped. 28 The Israelites then went and did what God had commanded Moses and Aaron. They did it all. 29 At midnight God struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, right down to the firstborn of the prisoner locked up in jail. Also the firstborn of the animals. 30 Pharaoh got up that night, he and all his servants and everyone else in Egypt-what wild wailing and lament in Egypt! There wasnt a house in which someone wasnt dead. 31-32 Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron that very night and said, Get out of here and be done with you-you and your Israelites! Go worship God on your own terms. And yes, take your sheep and cattle as youve insisted, but go. And bless me. 33 The Egyptians couldnt wait to get rid of them; they pushed them to hurry up, saying, Were all as good as dead. 34-36 The people grabbed their bread dough before it had risen, bundled their bread bowls in their cloaks and threw them over their shoulders. The Israelites had already done what Moses had told them; they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold things and clothing. God saw to it that the Egyptians liked the people and so readily gave them what they asked for. Oh yes! They picked those Egyptians clean. 37-39 The Israelites moved on from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 on foot, besides their dependents. There was also a crowd of riffraff tagging along, not to mention the large flocks and herds of livestock. They baked unraised cakes with the bread dough they had brought out of Egypt; it hadnt raised-theyd been rushed out of Egypt and hadnt time to fix food for the journey. The Passover 40-42 The Israelites had lived in Egypt 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, Gods entire army left Egypt. God kept watch all night, watching over the Israelites as he brought them out of Egypt. Because God kept watch, all Israel for all generations will honor God by keeping watch this night-a watchnight. 43-47 God said to Moses and Aaron, These are the rules for the Passover: No foreigners are to eat it. Any slave, if hes paid for and circumcised, can eat it. No casual visitor or hired hand can eat it. Eat it in one house-dont take the meat outside the house. Dont break any of the bones. The whole community of Israel is to be included in the meal. 48 If an immigrant is staying with you and wants to keep the Passover to God, every male in his family must be circumcised, then he can participate in the Meal-he will then be treated as a native son. But no uncircumcised person can eat it. 49 The same law applies both to the native and the immigrant who is staying with you. 50-51 All the Israelites did exactly as God commanded Moses and Aaron. That very day God brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, tribe by tribe. The Message (MSG) Copyright C 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 00:23:33 +0000
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