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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 11 January 2025:
Exodus 13:3, 8 – Remember this day…. You shall tell your son….
Knowing human nature, God established rituals to teach future generations what He had done and to ensure that His people never forgot. How do you remind your family each year about what God has done in your life?
Exodus 13:6, 7 — Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.
Holiness and purity are all-or-nothing propositions. Like how a small amount of leaven spreads throughout dough to make it rise, even a small amount of sin can spread and corrupt a person and a whole community, emphasizing the contagious nature of wrongdoing; essentially, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” God used unleavened bread as a reminder to the people of the criticality of purity. Notice the redundancy of the verses above. This is repeated for emphasis much like we might use and exclamation point.
“On the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.” Living a pure and disciplined life day in and day out can at times be a struggle, but there is a great reward at the end. Don’t compromise your day; don’t compromise in the moment. “The pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” (Jim Rohn).
Exodus 13:8, 9 – You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth.
God expects His people to know His word, to meditate upon His word continuously, to obey His word, and to teach His word, and to parent from His word. Prayerful, diligent Bible study, practice, and teaching cannot be overemphasized.
- Joshua 1:8 — This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
- Ezra 7:10 — Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.
- John 14:21 — Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
- Matthew 28:19-20 — Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
- John 8:31 — So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples….
- John 15:10 — If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
- James 1:22 — But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Exodus 13:13 – Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem [with a lamb].
Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was the perfect sacrifice who redeemed us once and for all.
Exodus 13:17 – God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”
If you are following God, He will not give you more than you can handle – “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil….” The Israelites equipped themselves for battle (v18), but God knew their limitations better than they did. They had not yet developed the faith for a fight. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without faith, you are not ready for big victories. If God is letting you experience a challenge or test in life, it is because He knows you can handle it if you so choose. Don’t tell yourself you can’t. Glorify God through your situation and trust God with the outcome. Whether you win or lose is not God’s measure but rather how you win or lose, because what He wants from you is Christlike character, not just external results. (Romans 8:29)
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 — No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
- Ephesians 3:20-21 — Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 11 January 2025: Today, focus on removing the leaven of sin from your life. Pray that God will expose in you what you have been hiding from yourself and others, and pray that God will give you the wisdom, courage, strength, and commitment to get rid of those sins you know you have been hanging onto. Isn’t it time to grow up on Christ? The definition of maturity is godliness.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 