God’s grace – Page 3

Digging in Deeper: Exodus 12:29-32

August 31, 2023Leave a comment

“Now at midnight the Lord stuck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, ‘Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have said. Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

God is going to one day bring judgment on the earth for all the sin that has been committed on it over the course of human history. Now, a great deal of sin was covered by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Actually, all of it was covered, but this covering only extends to those who have been willing to receive it. That’s the problem. Not nearly everyone has accepted His gracious gift. Many have and will yet decide to bear the weight of their sin on their own. They pridefully believe themselves capable of handling the load. They will be proven disastrously wrong in the end. That will indeed be a terrifying day. We know this because the mere snapshots God has given us of judgment in the Scriptures are themselves terrifying to behold. The final plague was a judgment against the sins of Egypt. Let’s talk about what is going on in these hard verses, and why they point us to a God worthy of our devotion.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 12:21-23

August 29, 2023August 29, 2023Leave a comment

“Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal. Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, he will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Blood is really important. That’s true physically, of course, as we die if we lose too much of it. It’s also true in various other symbolic ways. Relationally speaking, we talk about blood relatives versus those who are just relatives by marriage. Familialy, there is the saying that “blood is thicker than water,” meaning we are going to have closer relationships with our family members than non-family members. When they put ratings on movies, part of what determines how restrictive of a rating a particular film gets is how much blood gets splattered across the screen. Bloody violence gets rated higher than non-bloody violence (think Deadpool versus Star Wars). Blood has also long played an important role in our religious practices. This was the case in the first Passover. Let’s talk about why and what is going on in this next part of the story.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 12:12-13

August 23, 2023Leave a comment

“I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the ministries I follow fairly closely has a phrase they repeat pretty regularly. It goes like this: ideas have consequences; bad ideas have victims. When we believe things that are wrong, not only will we do things that are wrong, but bad things will eventually come to us and those around us. The wrong beliefs of the people of Egypt had finally brought them to the point we find ourselves addressing this morning. God was bringing judgment against the nation in the form of the death of all of its firstborn. We have talked about it once before. We’ll talk about it one more time in the days yet to come, Lord willing. Today, let’s take a look at a couple of details in this next part of the story that give us a better picture of what was really going on here, and the nature of God’s perfect justice.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 6:9-10

June 29, 2022June 29, 2022Leave a comment

“Even though we are speaking this way, dearly loved friends, in your case we are confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation. For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints — and by continuing to serve them.”
— ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6:9-10‬‬

Forgetting is hard. Now, maybe your memory works like mine, and you’re a little skeptical of that statement. After all, I forget things all the time…just ask my wife. I am getting better, though. But that’s not what I mean. It’s hard to forget things that are done to and for you. On the “to” side this can be a challenge since we are better off forgetting some of the things that are done to us. But remembering things done for us can be a great benefit because of the gratitude it develops in our hearts. As much as we struggle with forgetting, God doesn’t forget either. Let’s talk this morning about why that can be a very good thing.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 6:9-10

June 29, 2022Leave a comment

Forgetting is hard. Now, maybe your memory works like mine, and you’re a little skeptical of that statement. After all, I forget things all the time…just ask my wife. I am getting better, though. But that’s not what I mean. It’s hard to forget things that are done too and for you. On the “to” side this can be a challenge since we are better off forgetting some of the things that are done to us. But remember things done for us can be a great benefit because of the gratitude it develops in our hearts. As much as we struggle with forgetting, God doesn’t forget either. Let’s talk this morning about why that can be a very good thing.

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