Daily devo 1/13/13

“Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13).

All of us want to live in a world where justice is carried out. We want criminals and those who hurt others to be punished. However, we are not always eager for justice when we are the ones who have done wrong. When we have done wrong, we hope mercy will be shown to us.

As the verse above indicates, God’s final judgment had come upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Their rebellion against God and His people would result in the death of all the firstborn children and animals in Egypt. They would experience God’s Justice. How dreadful! Sin has terrible consequences. Sin ends in death (Romans 6:23).

God had instituted the Passover memorial for the Israelites. As the verse above indicates, God tells His people when He sees the blood of the lamb over their doorposts and lintels of their houses, He would pass over them and they would be spared this terrible plague of the death of their firstborn.

Christ is our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). My sins result in my deserving to die. Praise God that I have been covered by the blood of Christ and have been spared of the terrible death I deserved. God’s grace is wonderful which He made possible by giving His Son to be my Passover Lamb. Praise God for showing me mercy and not justice. Praise God for allowing His Son to satisfy God’s justice by paying the price for my sin!

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

Daily devo 1/12/13

“So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.” (Exodus 6:10).

Following Moses’ initial request for Pharaoh to let Israel go and serve God, Pharaoh responded by adding additional burdens to the children of Israel and increasing the hardship of their slavery unto him (Exodus 5:5-19). The Israelites blamed Moses for making them abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh (Exodus 5:20). Things were becoming worse for them not better since they had decided to follow Moses in seeking for Pharaoh to let them go. It is safe to say they were very discouraged.

God had encouraged both Moses and the people by letting them know He was going to fulfill His promises to give them the Promised Land. God said, “I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord." (Exodus 6:8-9). But as the verse above indicates the people were so discouraged by what had happened to them they refused to heed this promise of God.

Do we allow the trying circumstances of life to overwhelm us to the extent that our focus on our circumstances distracts us from listening to the many promises which God has made to us? Keep your eye on God today and cling to His precious promises. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23)

Daily devo 1/11/13

“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’” (Exodus 3:11)

God had called Moses to deliver God’s people from slavery in the land of Egypt. 40 years earlier Moses had tried to deliver his brethren from Egyptian bondage according to Moses’ own plans (Acts 7:23-25).This did not work out. In fact Moses had been on the run for next 40 years as Pharaoh had sought his life (Exodus 2:15; Acts 7:30). At this point in his life, it didn’t make sense to Moses how God could use him for such a great task. Moses begins making excuses for how he cannot do the task which God has set before him (Exo. 4:1-13).

God can use us to accomplish great things to His glory (Matt. 5:13-16). Let us not make excuses. Let us not try to glorify God in our own way and by our own methods. Rather let us submit ourselves to God’s Will and let God work in our lives.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Daily Devo 1/5/13

“But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept” (Genesis 33:4).

Years earlier Jacob had coerced Esau to sell him Esau’s birthright and conspired with his mother Rebekah to steal Esau’s blessing from his father Isaac. After experiencing this, Esau hated his brother Jacob. Now 20 years later Jacob was returning home. Jacob greatly feared Esau and was concerned Esau would want revenge.

The verse above shows Esau had finally forgiven his brother. Esau is not typically depicted as a very honorable character in the Bible. His descendants would be enemies of Jacob’s descendants for years to come. But in this instance, Esau demonstrates the forgiveness we should strive to practice towards those who have wronged us.

May it not take us 20 years to let go of the pain others have caused us. May each of us remember we also have caused pain to others. May we remember today and every day that our Savior Jesus Christ died to pay the price for the pain we caused God by our sins. May this humble us so that we can practice towards those who have hurt us the same forgiveness God has shown us.

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Daily devo 1/3/13

1/3/13

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God’” (Gen. 28:20-21)

Jacob of the Old Testament, like Peter in the New Testament, is one of my favorite Bible characters. He grew up in a dysfunctional family where his parents Isaac and Rebekah each had their favorite child. He grew up letting sin dominate his life like when he coerced his brother Isaac into selling him his birthright (Genesis 25:33-34) and later worked together with his mother Rebekah to deceive his father Isaac into blessing him with the blessing his father intended to give to his brother Esau (Genesis 27). Jacob’s sin caught up with him and he was forced to leave home to escape the wrath of his brother Esau.

When he left home, Jacob was alone. He was uncertain what lay ahead for his future. He was scared. He is in a perfect position for God to start working on him. God shows him a vision of a ladder stretching up to heaven and Jacob begins to place his faith and trust in God as his statement above shows.

His faith in God at this point is far from perfect. His statement above almost seems like he is trying to bargain with God. Later when he returns back home he is scared to see his brother Esau and tries to pacify Esau with lots of gifts. But it was a starting place and God would take him from this starting place and help Jacob to develop a much deeper faith in God. Later in his life Jacob as he tells his son Joseph that his offspring would face their own challenges in the land of Egypt, Jacob would say,
“"Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.” His confidence and faith in God’s power had grown over the course of his life.

Jacob’s faith in God had become much stronger as He let God work on him. It is a great blessing to live a life of faith in God. Like Jacob let God work on you to help you develop a greater faith in Him!

Daily Devo 1/4/13

1/4/13

“And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.’" (Genesis 32:28)

These words were spoken to Jacob following a wrestling match he had with the Angel of the Lord (cf. Hosea 12:4). Jacob had been away from home for 20 years. Now he had a family and was returning home. His brother Esau had hated him when he left home. He has found out that Esau was coming to meet him with over 400 men (Genesis 32:6). He is scared. What should he do? That night he wrestles with the Angel of the Lord and his name is changed from Jacob to Israel which means “Prince of God”.

As I think about this event in Jacob’s life, I can certainly relate. Many times over my life I had been uncertain as to what to do when faced with my fears and anxieties about some matter.  I have not always done the right thing. I have wrestled with God (e.g. by blaming Him or doubting Him) and with men (e.g. lashing out at them in my anger and frustration or trying to use worldly tactics to overcome my problems). Somehow God has put up with me and seen me through. God is willing to let me wrestle with Him. While it is better if I just submit to God and His Will, I believe God knows at times I have to wrestle with Him so I can get to the point of seeing my own foolishness. Praise be to our Heavenly Father who is so longsuffering in dealing with us. Have a blessed day today. Let us submit to God and His Will for us and not have to wrestle with Him in order to see our own foolishness!