Week 12 Friday
Exodus 33 reveals God's overwhelming holiness alongside His willingness to relent, Psalm 57 finds David praising God even from a cave, and Ananias and Sapphira learn that God cannot be mocked.
Exodus 33
📖 What are we reading?: God tells Moses He will not go with the people because of their sin, but Moses pleads for His presence, then asks to see God's glory.
✞ What does this passage say about God? See how seriously He takes our sin in verse 3, and yet how great His glory and majesty are - to see His face would mean instant death.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? Perhaps verse 13 should be our own prayer today. And let this reminder of God's overwhelming majesty make Jesus' descent to earth as a humble man all the more spectacular.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: Exodus, meaning "departure", was written by Moses around 1400 BC. It tells the thrilling story of Israel's miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt - a picture of Christ setting us free from the prison of sin.
Psalm 57
📖 What are we reading?: David hides in a cave, surrounded by enemies, and yet his trust in God is greater than his fear.
✞ What does this passage say about God? He is a refuge, under the shadow of whose wings we can take shelter, whatever surrounds us.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? Make verses 7-11 a heartfelt prayer today, as David's steadfast heart breaks into praise even from that cave.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: The Psalms is a collection of 150 poems and songs, written by David and others, expressing the full range of human emotion in response to God and to life.
Acts 5:1-11
📖 What are we reading?: Ananias and Sapphira lie to the Holy Spirit about the proceeds of a sale, and both are struck down.
✞ What does this passage say about God? He is holy, and will not be mocked, even within His own church.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? Great fear filled the church that day. Perhaps we need a fresh dose of that same reverence for God, so casually is He treated by many today.
Looking for some extra info?
📝 A devotion looking at Peter's fruitfulness across Acts 3-5.
➡️ The bigger picture: Luke's second book outlines the ministry of the early church - though it could just as well be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, as He guides and grows Jesus' small movement into something that changes the world.
A Prayer for the Day
🙏 Lord, teach us Your ways, help us to praise You even in our caves of trouble, and give us a fresh and holy fear of You. Amen.
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