Exodus 21-24; Matthew 19-20
Was too tired to post last night, so here are my posts for yesterday and today:
Exodus 21-22
These chapters underscore for me the value of grace. In these chapters, people had to pay back almost every single debt, and avenge every single thing. Reading them made me appreciate the new covenant we have with God and the fact that the price of what I broke, stole, or misused, has been paid in full. No questions asked.
Matthew 19
I was touched by the simple fact that Jesus prayed for children (vs 13-15). They are precious in his sight, and these verses motivate me to pray for mine and the children of others.
Vs 11-12 are so powerful in The Message version of the Bible, though. Jesus stated that God’s original plan was for married couples to be faithful to one another forever and for there to be no need for divorce. The disciples wondered what the point was of getting married, given such ‘restrictions.’ Jesus replied:
‘Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn’t for everyone. Some, from birth, seemingly, never give marriage a thought. Others never get asked - or accepted. And some decide not to get married for kingdom reasons. But if you’re capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it.’
Whoa!!! Talk about breaking it down!
Exodus 21-22
These chapters underscore for me the value of grace. In these chapters, people had to pay back almost every single debt, and avenge every single thing. Reading them made me appreciate the new covenant we have with God and the fact that the price of what I broke, stole, or misused, has been paid in full. No questions asked.
Matthew 19
I was touched by the simple fact that Jesus prayed for children (vs 13-15). They are precious in his sight, and these verses motivate me to pray for mine and the children of others.
Vs 11-12 are so powerful in The Message version of the Bible, though. Jesus stated that God’s original plan was for married couples to be faithful to one another forever and for there to be no need for divorce. The disciples wondered what the point was of getting married, given such ‘restrictions.’ Jesus replied:
‘Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn’t for everyone. Some, from birth, seemingly, never give marriage a thought. Others never get asked - or accepted. And some decide not to get married for kingdom reasons. But if you’re capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it.’
Whoa!!! Talk about breaking it down!
Exodus 23
- Vs 25-26: the many benefits of worshipping God. Worship is linked to blessing, healing, good reproductive health (and, I also take this to refer to the healer of our visions: they will not be aborted or miscarried along the way), long life, victory in warfare.
- Vs 29-30: God of process! Meticulous and thoughtful and purposeful in all he does. A master planner. He was not going to drive out all the enemies of his people in a single year, because that would lead to other problems. Rather, he would drive them out little by little until the Israelites had the capacity to possess the land. This also shows that God often works in collaboration with us, despite his ability to do everything alone. He’s not in a hurry, and will wait for us to be ready so that we can play the role he has assigned to us.
Exodus 24
- Vs 4: ‘Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.’ Resonates with me because I enjoy writing things down (or, rather, typing things down), including the things I believe God is saying to me.
- Vs 7-8: I’m reminded that God had made a new covenant with me, by the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus! It’s my job to read and familiarize myself with this covenant.
- Vs 15-16: God’s not in a hurry. Sometimes we just need to wait for a specific word from him. He called Moses up to the mountain, but didn’t say anything for 6 days. On the 7th day, he called to Moses.
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