Exodus 5:22-6:30; Matthew 18:23-35; Psalms 24:1-2; Proverbs 10:15-16

OT: “Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’ I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.” (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭6:2-9‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

When Moses began doubting whether or not God would actually deliver on His promises, God gave Moses a quick reminder of Who He is and His proven faithfulness in the past. Then He underlined His promise once again and said that it would happen. The Israelites didn’t really want to hear promises any more. The word ‘broken‘ here actually means short or impatient. The Israelites would not listen to Moses’ reminder because their hard labor had made them impatient and were not willing to wait for the Lord’s deliverance. After 400 years of living under slavery in a foreign land, they had forgotten who their God was. It is so easy for us to forget things when they aren’t right in front of our face. That is why remembering is so important – and it is something that God is always asking us to do. Thankfully, that is one of the things the Holy Spirit helps us with: remembering. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would remind us of the things He taught. Otherwise, we would be prone to forget and would become easy targets for the enemy’s lies.

NT: ““For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents was brought before him. Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:23-35‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

As a point of reference, a denarius is about 1 days wage. A talent is worth about 6,000 denarii – or about 20 years wages. The first servant in this story had a debt equivalent to 200,000 yearly salaries – an impossible debt to pay off. It is amazing how quickly we can forget the enormous debt that we have been forgiven, and turn around and not show mercy and forgiveness to others. We are forgiven of our unpayable debt of sin and shown great mercy by God, and then turn around and aren’t willing to show the same mercy and forgiveness to others. We must never forget the mercy that we have been shown and the immense forgiveness we have been given. We must keep that truth ever before our eyes, informing our perspective on others, and keeping us ever humble before the Lord. Our lack of forgiveness doesn’t harm others as much as it brings torture to our souls. Holy Spirit, help me to always remember the debt I was forgiven, that I may never lift myself above others.

Exodus 4:27-5:21; Matthew 18:15-22; Psalms 23:1-6; Proverbs 10:13-14

OT: “Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. Aaron repeated everything the Lord had said to Moses and performed the signs before the people. The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had paid attention to them and that he had seen their misery, they knelt low and worshiped. Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.” But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” They answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword.” The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor!” …That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers of the people as well as their foremen, “Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers — that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words.” …So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me? Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all.”” (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4:29-‭5:4, 6-9, 22-23‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

When Moses and Aaron gathered the Israelite elders together and gave there presentation, all was well. The people believed Moses and Aaron and a sense of relief filled every heart. Little did they know that the struggle for freedom had only begun. Receiving a word from the Lord is so exciting and faith-building. Everyone is ready to embrace the word of promise until adversity comes. Following God’s purposes is no walk in the park, but for some reason, so many believers expect God’s will to be easy. We have an adversary that is persistent. Many times he will withstand us, and then use his opposition to accuse us of not hearing God – saying, “if you truly were following God’s will everything would fall into place… everything would be easy… you didn’t really hear God… you made this all up in your mind.” The Israelites that were celebrating Moses’ arrival were the ones that were asking Moses to leave once adversity hit and things began getting tough. Adversity is challenging. God even told Moses that there would be resistance, and even after knowing that it would come, Moses still lost resolve when the resistance came. Do I know the voice of the Lord well enough to know when it is truly Him speaking to me? Is my faith in the voice and word of the Lord strong enough to withstand adversity, or do I shrink back in doubt and intimidation? When I am discouraged, where do I go? Do I wallow in self-pity, or do I go to the Lord in prayer and honestly lay everything before Him and trust His word?

NT: ““If your brother sins against you, go tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won’t listen, take one or two others with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he doesn’t pay attention to them, tell the church. If he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you…” Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:15-17, 21-22‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Unfortunately, much of the adversity and resistance we face comes from other people wronging us – and many times from people who claim to be part of Christ’s body. The easy and “natural” thing is to allow resentment to build up between you and the person that wronged you, but Jesus presents a better, albeit more difficult way: forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing, although forgiveness is required for reconciliation to happen. Jesus talking about the brother who sins against you is about reconciliation – not forgiveness. You give a brother who has sinned against you opportunities to repent of their sin and be reconciled. If they refuse to acknowledge their sin, even before the witness of the church, then at that time, they are unwilling to reconcile and cannons live in relationship with you until they are willing to be reconciled. Forgiveness is different – which is why Peter asks the Lord about forgiveness after Jesus talks about reconciliation. The Rabbis at that time held a 3 strikes and you are out attitude toward forgiveness and taught that forgiving someone more than three times was unnecessary – so Peter thought that he was being incredibly generous with his forgiving seven times. But Jesus’ reply basically said that we should always forgive and not put a limit on our forgiveness. Forgiveness is more about our heart and not so much about the offender. When we forgive, it prevents us from becoming resentful and opens the door for reconciliation. And why would we withhold forgiveness from someone if God doesn’t withhold it from us. Forgiveness is unconditional – reconciliation and restoration is not. You can forgive someone and not be reconciled.

Psalms: “The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23:1-6‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

When we submit to the Lord’s leading and allow Him to be our shepherd, He will lead us through scary, challenging, and dangerous places on the way to promise – but all the while, He protects and comforts us. And if we stay with Him and don’t get scared off, He flaunts the blessing that He gives us in the face of our enemies. When we remain with the Lord, the very things that the enemy uses to withstand us and scare us off become the very things that God uses to bring blessing, life, strength, and renewal to us – and in remaining faithful to us as we are faithful to Him, he makes a public spectacle of those who stood against His work in and through us. Don’t lose heart. Trust in God, and follow the Good Shepherd.

Exodus 4:1-26; Matthew 18:1-14; Psalms 22:27-31; Proverbs 10:11-12

OT: “But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent — either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant — because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.” The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.” Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”” (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4:10-13‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The word Satan isn’t really the enemy’s name. It is actually a title of sorts. Satan means adversary or someone who withstands. The word devil is similar. It is a title that describes the enemy and means slanderer and false accuser. That is our enemy: he is our adversary and he forcefully opposes the work that the Lord desires to do through us. How does he do it? By falsely accusing us and slandering us – often to our own face. He uses our weaknesses against us and accuses us of being far less than what God needs. When God calls us to something great, the enemy comes to ridicule us and tell us we will fail because of our weaknesses. He moves us to fear and manipulates us into telling God, “I can’t… please use someone else.” Sadly, if we give into the fear, eventually the “I can’t” evolves into “I won’t.” When a frightened child stand at the end of the deep end of the pool and says, “I can’t jump in – I’ll drown.” The loving father swims to the side of the pool and says to his child, “Yes you can… you won’t drown… I’m here and I will catch you.” In a sense, that is what was going on with Moses. Thankfully, though he was struggling to have faith in God and didn’t want to obey, eventually he did. And God the Father caught him in such a glorious way… and instead of failing because of his weaknesses, God was shown strong in his life through his weaknesses.

NT: “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a small child and had him stand among them. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child — this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away — it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea… See to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save the lost. What do you think? If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:1-6, 10-14‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The greatest in the kingdom isn’t the one that comes with all the gifts, talents, abilities, and self-confidence. The greatest in the kingdom is the one who trusts fully in the Father and does whatever the Father asks, because he knows the Father is faithful and will catch him. Never doubt God’s ability to work through someone who is humble and completely submitted to Him. And woe to those who ridicule them and shame them for their unwavering trust in God and convince them to believe what the world and the enemy would say about them instead of what God says about them. The Lord is fiercely protective of those who place their trust in Him. It is His desire that their faith in Him remains so that they can have life, and not be led away into self-confidence or self-doubt. For those in the church – receive those who walk in faith and calling… don’t despise them, discourage them, or turn them away… honor the work of the Lord in them… welcome them, and you welcome the work and presence of the Lord.

Exodus 2:23-3:22; Matthew 17:22-27; Psalms 22:25-26; Proverbs 10:10

OT: “After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out, and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the Israelites, and God knew. Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed… When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered. “Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he continued, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey — the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them, therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.” Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?” God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”” (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭2:23-25; 3:1-2, 4-14‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

So many insights packed in this section of scripture. First, God did not forget about the Israelites in Egypt. He heard their cries and He remembered His promises. God told Abraham in Genesis 15:13 that his descendants would be enslaved in a foreign country for 400 years, and within that time his descendants would become a nation. But there was more going on than just building a nation. God also told Abraham in Genesis 15:16 that the iniquity of the inhabitants of the promised land had not reached its full measure – it was not time for His judgement to come to the people of Canaan. There were numerous reasons for God’s “delay” but it wasn’t because He had forgotten, nor because He wasn’t aware. God knows… God sees… God remembers… God is faithful. Due season will come.

When God called Moses’ name. Moses gave a response: hineni, which translated into English means “Here I am.” Hineni is a very significant word in Jewish culture. It is a word that communicates availability and surrender… here is all of me fully available and surrendered to all that you have for me – I am here, present, for you. When God calls our name, are we fully present, fully available, fully surrendered – or are we distracted in our thoughts or with our to-dos for the day? Are we ready to participate with our Lord in His eternal purposes, or are we more concerned with our agenda? That word challenges me and convicts me of my lack of present-ness with the Lord and with the people He has called me to.

This time, instead of Moses taking it upon himself to try and deliver his people, God was sending him to lead God’s people out of Egypt. Moses’ response this time wasn’t as open and available, now that he knew what God wanted. I wonder if Moses was thinking about his past failure… been there, done that, brought the t-shirt with me to Midian. So many times, the enemy – Satan, the accuser, will remind us of the failures we made in our own strength to discourage us from accepting God’s call to do things in God’s strength. What was God’s response to Moses’ hesitancy? “I will be with you.” That makes all the difference. Past failures don’t matter when you are yoked up with the omnipotent, omniscient, ever-faithful King of Kings, doing His work with Him.

God then gives Moses a sign that will prove that God is the one doing the delivering and not Moses. The sign will be that the people will come and worship Him. At first blush, that doesn’t sound like much of a sign – but think about it… naturally people, once they are freed, tend to go their own way and do their own thing – because instead of being forced to obey a master, they are now free. But God said that His deliverance will be so powerful, so amazing, so miraculous, so obviously Him – that everyone will be compelled to worship Him as a united people. That begs the question: those of us who have been delivered from enslavement to sin and transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light and life – do our lives display the sign that God has delivered us? Do we live our lives in worship to God our deliverer, or do we go our own way and do our own thing?

Finally, God’s name… Moses asked God for His name, so that he could tell the Israelites who was sending him. Before, God identified Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the God of past patriarchs Who had proven Himself faithful to people in the past. But God tells Moses, My name from this point and forever is I AM… Completely present, here, now. I AM always present. I have always been present… and forever, throughout eternity, even beyond the limitations of time, I will always be present. The God who was present with Abraham is present with you right here, right now. Wow! What a comforting and encouraging truth to Moses… to the Israelites… to me.

Exodus 2:11-22; Matthew 17:10-21; Psalms 22:19-24; Proverbs 10:8-9

OT: “Years later, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his people. Looking all around and seeing no one, he struck the Egyptian dead and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your neighbor?” “Who made you a commander and judge over us?” the man replied. “Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became afraid and thought, “What I did is certainly known.” When Pharaoh heard about this, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.” (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭2:11-15‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

This is merely conjecture – but I wonder if Moses had a sense that he was supposed to be involved in delivering his people in some way. He was nursed by his Hebrew mother – I wonder if she instilled in him a higher calling. I wonder if growing up in the royal family, while knowing his origins, gave him a sense of calling. If that were the case, I can see why he would feel compelled to “deliver” the Hebrew that was being unjustly beaten by the Egyptian. The only problem was that his best efforts were extremely limited, misguided, and made a complete mess of things. Were it not for God’s mercy and grace, Moses, in attempting to take things in his own hands, would have completely derailed his destiny. Was Moses destined to deliver his people from slavery in Egypt? Yes – but it was not to be done by Moses’ strength or in his understanding – but by the empowering and leading grace of God. How many times to I try to take my “calling” into my own hands and try to make things happen? How does that turn out? Not well – and a lot of mistakes are made in the process. It is much better to wait on the Lord, do things in His grace, and by the leading of His Holy Spirit.

NT: “When they reached the crowd, a man approached and knelt down before him. “Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and from that moment the boy was healed. Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” “Because of your little faith,” he told them. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. However this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting”” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17:14-21‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Back in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus gave His disciples authority to drive out unclean spirits and drive them out… and they did just that. Somewhere along the way, things must have gone a little sideways. Perhaps the disciples began thinking they were “all that” and began placing faith in their ability and not in Christ. Either way, they failed in being able to deliver this boy from demonic oppression and had to send the father to Jesus instead. Jesus grieving at the state of things, responded accordingly. So often we try to do things in our own strength or in our own ways and make a mess of things… and that grieves The Lord and the Holy Spirit within us. Oh, if we would just place our faith in the Lord, wait on Him, so what He instructs us to do and not pervert His words or His ways… then things would be so much more glorious.  When the disciples asked Jesus why they failed, His response was essentially lack of faith, lack of prayer, and lack of discipline. Again, faith isn’t something you muster up within yourself – like getting hyped for a competition. Faith is placing complete trust on the Faithful One and allowing your faith to come alive in obedience.

Psalms: “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will praise you in the assembly. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! All you descendants of Israel, revere him! For he has not despised or abhorred the torment of the oppressed. He did not hide his face from him but listened when he cried to him for help.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭22:22-24‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Notice how David’s attitude and countenance changes from the first 20 verses of this psalm to the last few. As he has reminded himself of Who his Lord is and how his Lord has been faithful, he sets aside his self pity and negative feelings and places his faith in the Lord. He says to himself, I will praise the Lord… and he says to his nation of followers, honor and revere the Lord! Why? Because He is faithful and he will hear the cries of the faithful. I don’t have to be the deliverer, because He will be the deliverer. I don’t have to do things through my best efforts, for He will empower me with His effort.

Exodus 1:1-2:10; Matthew 16:21-17:9; Psalms 22:1-18; Proverbs 10:6-7

OT: “A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. Come, let’s deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and when war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.” So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. They worked the Israelites ruthlessly and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them… Pharaoh then commanded all his people, “You must throw every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live.”” (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭1:8-14, 22‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

While it may sound far-fetched to many, there is a kingdom of darkness that is actively 24/7/365 working to thwart and destroy the redemptive plan of God on the earth.  As a result, following the purposes of God isn’t going to rainbows and unicorns all day long. There is going to be resistance – sometimes heavy and painful resistance to the purposes of God in your life. While the blessed life promised by God is a gift, it comes at a cost. The good news is that if you are surrendered to God, He will give you the grace to withstand the resistance. God worked mightily through the surrendered life of Joseph to preserve the lineage of Abraham and ensure that His redemptive plan would continue. Yet, as soon as Joseph was removed from the scene and doors were opened to darkness, the enemy of humanity began working through the powers-that-be to try and snuff out God’s plans. The harder the enemy attacked, the greater God’s life-giving glory shone through His people – and He made a way where there appeared to be no way.

NT: “From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16:21-26‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Ultimately, there are 2 kingdom purposes at work in the earth: The kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Anything that is not aligned with and submitted to the Kingdom of God is ultimately, though often times unwittingly, in league with the kingdom of darkness. That is why Jesus told Peter, “Get behind me Satan.” Peter was looking at things from a human perspective and was therefore standing in opposition to the purposes of the Kingdom. Being a part of God’s kingdom purposes is costly – it requires you to sacrifice your human plans and desires for His divine plans and desires. To gain the life that God has for you, you must be willing to lose the life you desire for yourself. Most people either don’t trust God’s purposes or their desire for immediate gratification outweighs the promise of eternal blessing and glory. Thus most decide not to pay the price and follow Jesus fully. Are there things that I am not willing to give up? Am I following Jesus fully? Am I even willing to ask Him to show me the things that I’m not willing to give up for fear of being accountable for that revelation? People call those dangerous questions – but they aren’t truly dangerous to your soul – just dangerous to your flesh and the enemy’s purposes for your life.

Psalms: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning? My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, by night, yet I have no rest. But you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Our ancestors trusted in you; they trusted, and you rescued them. They cried to you and were set free; they trusted in you and were not disgraced… Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads: “He relies on the Lord; let him save him; let the Lord rescue him, since he takes pleasure in him.” …I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me… For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people look and stare at me. They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭22:1-5, 7-8, 14, 16-18‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

What an amazing psalm this is. It is both an example of David honestly dealing with his feelings before God, and also David seeing through his experiences a picture of the suffering Messiah. Feelings are real, but they don’t always portray the truth. So David honestly submits his feelings before the Lord while also recounting the truth that he knows about the Lord. He starts out by saying, I’m crying out to you all day long, but I feel like you aren’t answering me. I toss and turn all night long, and it feel like I’m being ignored. But this I know: You are Holy – and You are enthroned (Your throne is established) on the praises of your people. When Your people put their complete trust in You, You rescued them. Wow! So what do we do? No matter our feelings, we lift up praise to God and trust that as we praise Him, our words of praise will build up faith and trust in us… then our faith and trust gives place for God’s rule to be established in the midst of our circumstances… and we will be helped. The interesting thing about this psalm is that Jesus quoted the first verse of this psalm while He hung on the cross: My God, My God, why have You forsaken (or abandoned) me? Then as David goes on to graphically describe poetically how he feels, we see in His words what literally happened to Jesus on the cross. Following God’s plans and being submitted to His purposes is not always rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns – but if we continue placing our trust in Him and remind ourselves of His truth, He will grace us to overcome the challenges and stand as a victor on the other side.

Genesis 50:1-26; Matthew 16:13-20; Psalms 21:8-13; Proverbs 10:5

OT: “When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.” …But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result — the survival of many people. Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭50:15, 19-21‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Joseph’s life was a beautiful picture of complete faith in the Lord. He was a man that did not have the written word, the blessing of Christ’s salvation, nor the indwelling Holy Spirit; yet he lived a life of faith in the revelation of God that he had. Because of his faith, a prophetic people was saved and a prophetic promise endured. The book of Genesis ends with the death of Joseph and the promise that God will one day return His people to the promised land.

NT: “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” …“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16:13, 15-19‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Caesarea Philippi was a gentile city located at the base of Mt. Hermon and the headwaters of the Jordan River. It was a hub of pagan worship. One of the gods that was worshiped there was the Greek god Pan. The Grotto of Pan was a cave at the bottom of a large cliff from which a spring gushed out water, and was considered a gate of Hades. Here, in the midst of pagan worship and before the “gates of Hades,” Jesus asked his disciples who people thought He was. After they gave various answers, He then asked, “Who do you say that I am.” Peter, having received revelation from the Father, proclaimed, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” At that point, Jesus says a few very important things. 1) You are Petros (a stone). 2) I will build my ecclesia (an assembly of called out people) on this Petra (large rock cliff). 3) the gates of Hades will not be able to overpower it. So – what does that mean? First of all, Jesus’s purpose is not to build a kingdom – His purpose is to build a church, a community of people called out from sin and the ways of the world to follow Him. Peter is not the rock that the church is built on. Peter is a stone that will be used in the building of the church – just as we all are. That is why Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2, that we are all living stones used to build a spiritual house with Christ as the chief cornerstone. While the pagan worship of that area was centered around a cave at the bottom of a large rocky cliff – Christ’s church would be built on the rock solid foundation of Who He was: The Messiah, the Son of God. And the plans and schemes of Hades itself will not be able to overpower that rock, nor the church that is built on it. Jesus didn’t need to build a kingdom, for He already had a kingdom. Instead, He would give His church the keys of the kingdom (or the right of entry and use) of the kingdom here on earth – and His church would have the authority to bind on earth what had been bound in heaven, and loose on earth what had been loosed in heaven. In other words, Christ’s church would be His kingdom ambassadors here on earth, delegated with all of the rights, privileges, and authority of the kingdom. But that privilege is only available to those who are part of the church that Christ is building and who have placed their complete faith in Him – who He is and what He has accomplished.

Genesis 49:1-33; Matthew 16:1-12; Psalms 21:1-7; Proverbs 10:3-4

OT: “Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. Judah is a young lion — my son, you return from the kill. He crouches; he lies down like a lion or a lioness — who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until he whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.” (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭49:8-10‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Just before Jacob passed away, he called all of his sons to him so that he could give blessing and share his understanding of what the future held for them. Ruben, Simeon, and Levi all disqualified themselves from any blessing – so the blessing of leadership fell to Judah. Joseph (and his two sons) received the blessing of abundance and fruitfulness. In the middle of Jacob’s blessing of Judah, he gives a Messianic prophecy. He declares that the mantle of leadership will not depart from Judah’s lineage – and it will last until “he whose right it is” comes. In the Hebrew, that phrase is one word: Shiloh. The literal translation for that word is  tranquility and rest – and it is considered to be a proper name. Shiloh is a person that embodies tranquility and rest – a peace maker – the rightful ruler of the nation. It is a word that describes the one who will ultimately come and crush the head of the serpent – the promised Messiah. So, the scepter of leadership will not depart from the line of Judah until the Messiah finally comes and all people submit in obedience to Him.

NT: “The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and tested him, asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.” …Then Jesus told them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16:1-4‬, 6 ‭CSB‬‬)

Once again, the Pharisees and Sadducees refused to consider who Jesus was until He showed them a convincing sign (as if He hadn’t shown numerous signs already). And once again, Jesus told them the sign that he would show them: that He would die, be buried for 3 days, and then rise again. But He also criticized them for being able to see, believe, and respond to the signs in the weather, but refused to see the fulfillment of prophecy that characterized His life. He was of the line of Judah… He was a direct descendant of King David… He had been born of a virgin… He had come out of Egypt… He had lived and ministered in Galilee… He had brought sight to the blind… He had healed diseases. There were signs all around. Shiloh had come and He was Him – he just wasn’t the messiah that the Pharisees and Sadducees wanted, and so they rejected Him. That is the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees: only willing to worship and submit to a Messiah that aligns with their terms and is agreeable to all of their requirements. Don’t let that attitude creep into your life, or else it will permeate your entire being and blind you to what God is truly doing.

Psalms: “Lord, the king finds joy in your strength. How greatly he rejoices in your victory! You have given him his heart’s desire and have not denied the request of his lips. -Sela- For you meet him with rich blessings; you place a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked you for life, and you gave it to him — length of days forever and ever. His glory is great through your victory; you confer majesty and splendor on him. You give him blessings forever; you cheer him with joy in your presence. For the king relies on the Lord; through the faithful love of the Most High he is not shaken.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭21:1-7‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

What a beautiful ode written by King David to the Lord that loved and trusted completely. David recognized that everything he had was a gift to him from the Lord – and because of that, David relied completely on the Lord and trusted completely in His faithful love. When we submit completely to Shiloh, then shiloh comes to us and fills our life.

Genesis 48:1-22; Matthew 15:29-39; Psalms 20:7-9; Proverbs 10:1-2

OT: “Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and numerous; I will make many nations come from you, and I will give this land as a permanent possession to your future descendants.’ Your two sons born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are now mine. Ephraim and Manasseh belong to me just as Reuben and Simeon do… Then he blessed Joseph and said: The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm — may he bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow to be numerous within the land.” (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭48:3-5, 15-16‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

As Jacob’s life was coming to an end, he wanted to make sure that he passed on the blessing that he had received. Jacob always recognized Joseph as the son to receive the blessing of the first born, for he was the firstborn son of his favored wife Rachael. Reuben and Simeon (Jacobs 2 oldest) had betrayed his trust, so Jacob added Joseph’s 2 sons as his own and blessed them with his blessing. It is interesting that now, at the end of his life, Jacob can see clearly in hindsight… all along, it was God’s blessing, not his own efforts, that prospered and protected him along the way – and that realization of blessing produced a gratefulness in his heart and an enlarged sense of purpose in his mind. So he passed on the blessing of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob on to Ephraim and Manasseh.

NT: “Moving on from there, Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountain and sat there, and large crowds came to him, including the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he healed them. So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they gave glory to the God of Israel. Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place to feed such a crowd?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked them. “Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.” After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They collected the leftover pieces — seven large baskets full.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15:29-37‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

First of all – the ministry endurance that Jesus walked in was astounding. For three days, He ministered to the crowds of people, and after 3 long days of ministry, He still had compassion for them. I’m not sure I would have any compassion for a crowd after dealing with their issues for three days straight. Nevertheless, He knew that they needed food. Instead of seeing the limitations of 7 loaves of bread and a few small fish – He thanked the Father for the provision that He did have. And through Jesus’ sincere gratitude, what He had was blessed and multiplied. The gospel of John says that Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing – so Jesus knew that the Father was going to feed the 4,000 plus people… and He was thankful that He wasn’t completely empty handed. The Father had something to work with. How often do I limit what God can do by the meager amount that I have instead of being thankful for the fact that I have something that God can bless and multiply.

Psalms: “Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭20:7‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Horses and chariots are nice to have – but are not necessary in God’s economy of blessing and thanksgiving. Instead of placing our trust in things, we place our trust in the character of the Lord God.

Genesis 47:13-31; Matthew 15:15-28; Psalms 20:1-6; Proverbs 9:13-18

NT: “When Jesus left there, he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.” Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.” He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!” He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that moment her daughter was healed.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15:21-28‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

This story has always been a little bit confusing to me until recently. Jesus’ responses to the Canaanite woman always seemed so out-of-character for Jesus – and they were. Recently, I came to understand that Jesus was basically role-playing, mirroring the heart and attitudes of His disciples. Here’s the scenario: Jesus went into a gentile area and He was approached by a pagan woman. He kept silent to see what His disciples would say – and their response revealed their heart and attitude for gentile/pagan people: “just send her away.” So Jesus took the opportunity to model the disciples’ elitist attitudes back to them by responding to the woman in a very characteristic way. Through the entire episode, the pagan woman maintained her faith in Christ – believing that all she needed were the “crumbs” of His authority and power to see her daughter delivered. To the disciple’s shame (the disciples who were routinely corrected for their little faith), Jesus commended the woman’s great faith and answered her prayer. Answered prayer isn’t dependent on who you are. Answered prayer isn’t dependent on the works you perform to obtain God’s favor. A prayer that is heard and answered by God depends on this: complete faith in, submission to, and dependence on the Lord.

Psalms: “May the Lord answer you in a day of trouble; may the name of Jacob’s God protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion. May he remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offering. Selah May he give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose. Let us shout for joy at your victory and lift the banner in the name of our God. May the Lord fulfill all your requests. Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories from his right hand.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭20:1-6‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

When you place your complete faith in the Lord, receive His gift of salvation, become part of His forever family, and walk in worshipful submission to His will and ways; He hears your prayers and He answers them. As we make Him our primary desire, and allow His desires to be our desires, He grants those desires and fulfills our very purpose.