Mar 23rd

Exodus 34     Proverbs 10     Judges 13     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Proverbs 10

“Lazy people are soon poor and hard workers get rich” Proverbs like this are generally true, but as always there are exceptions to every rule. There are some very lazy people who seem to have the Midas touch; they do very little but everything they touch seems to turn to gold, there are also some who work tirelessly whilst never being able to dig themselves out of their financial misfortune.

That said there is wisdom in reminding people who choose not to work at anything that their results will be poverty ‘the poverty of the poor is their calamity’ (10:15) Often those who are poor (and I’m not just talking about physical wealth) will blame everything but themselves, but more often than not the root of the problem lies in those little grey cells between our ears. Truly a man who ‘sleeps away the hour of opportunity brings shame’ (10:5)

Perhaps harsh words but I wonder if there is an area of our own lives that needs us to think about this. I love the saying ‘if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got’. What are we dissatisfied with? What needs our attention? Are there areas of our lives that are ‘poor’? Is that as a result of us not working hard enough at them?

(lay member of staff)

Mar 22nd

Exodus 33     Proverbs 9     Judges 12     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Exodus 33

You hear that some people have a lot, Moses quite literally had everything. There was nothing that he couldn’t have if he wanted it. And yet he felt a call on his life to give it all up and lead Gods people into the promised land. This isn’t massively un-common, people give up vast wealth and privilege from time to time to do what they feel called to. But then a twist, just at the point where God gives Moses permission to go ahead he also tells him that he’s not going with him.

Moses told God that he wasn’t going to go if God wasn’t going with them, and why? This was Moses’ life calling after all. It’s because Moses recognises early on that  without God there was nothing to separate them out as being the people of God. He recognised that they needed God’s presence. Moses, like Joshua, was hungry for the presence of God. I wonder if we are? Do we seek the presence of God in our daily lifes, do we boldly get on with making our own decisions? Rather than asking God to help you with something maybe we should ask God what he is doing and how we can help him...

(lay member of staff)

Mar 21st

Exodus 32     Proverbs 8     Judges 11     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Exodus 32 can be used to help us look quite starkly at our world today. Almost immediately the Jews are asking for a new God to worship, something tangible, something they can see and touch and feel led by. Aaron gives them what they want, although verse 22 always amuses me. He tries to pass the blame off on someone else. It’s quite a childish response. I’m sure we can all think of examples of how society has formed their own Gods. Footballers, shops, brands even types of computers can form into their idols or their Gods, to be worshiped, to be coveted and to be attained.

Again I wonder if there is something we can learn from this, if we’re too quick to look outward and see where ‘others’ go wrong. Are there things or even people in our own lives that we’ve allowed to take Gods place? We sing ‘You’re King and you reign over all things’ – but does he really? In the words of DA Carson “Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.

(lay member of staff)

Mar 20th

Exodus 31     Proverbs 7     Judges 10     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Prov. 7:6-27 speaks very specifically about sexual sin.  The Bible speaks about this because it is an area of weakness with so many of God's children and also because we can fall into this form of sin in our thoughts so very easily.  Remember the words of Jesus, "I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt.5:28).

Notice the steps the young man in this passage takes on his way to sexual sin.  Firstly, he is lacking in judgement (v. 7), secondly, he is walking "in the direction of her house" (v. 8), thirdly, he engages in intimate conversation with the prostitute (v. 13), fourthly, he allows himself to be persuaded by her smooth words (v. 22), and finally, he forgets that sin may appear very sweet and attractive but it has a poisonous sting (vs. 26-27).

Let us watch ourselves very carefully against this most pervasive form of sin.  Let us discern it for what it is and keep clear of it, rather than walk in its direction.  Let us be especially careful of what we view on the internet.  The antidote to this form of temptation is given clearly in this passage: "Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths" (v 25).

(overseas mission partner)

Mar 19th

Exodus 30     Proverbs 6     Judges 9     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Prov. 6:6, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!"
The Bible teaches us clearly that we are to use our time wisely in labouring for the kingdom of God.  Paul says, "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:15-16).  This was the way of Jesus: "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me" (Jn. 9:4).

How easy it is to waste time doing very little for the kingdom of God.  We may intend to spend just a few minutes on Facebook or reading the paper and find that an hour or two has gone.  And yet how many opportunities there are to use our time well.  A bus or train journey can be used to listen to a sermon or in quiet prayer; a lunch time can be used in reading a Christian book that will help us spiritually.  The best way to make sure that we use our time well is to plan the day well.  Think through carefully what you will be doing today and how you can best use each hour God gives you to bring honour to Him.

(overseas mission partner)

Mar 18th

Exodus 29     Proverbs 5     Judges 8     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Prov. 5:3-4, "The lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is
smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a
double-edged sword."

Sin is a most subtle and deceptive thing, and yet utterly destructive.  It  is sin that has caused all the misery and suffering in the world today, and it is sin that has trapped millions in darkness and ignorance.  Our enemy the devil is so very clever in the way he dresses sin when he seeks to tempt us.  He will never present sin in its true colours, but will dress it up in attractive clothing so that it appears desirable.  An idolatrous love for money can be presented as a desire to earn more so that we can be generous to others; an unhealthy desire to be with the unsaved can be presented as
seeking an opportunity for witnessing to them.

Let us spend time today examining ourselves.  Let us look carefully at our actions and our motives.  Are we pursuing Christ-likeness in all our ways, or is it the case that we have become dull and careless? Do we see sin and temptation in their true colours or are we dazzled by its attractive appearance and follow it without discernment?

(overseas mission partner)

Mar 17th

Exodus 28     Proverbs 4     Judges 7     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Prov. 4:13, "Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life."

The Bible is one of the most precious gifts God has given us.  It tells us who God is, who we are and, above all, how we may be saved from our sins and brought into His family as His beloved people.  Without the Bible we would never know any of this and would be groping in the darkness.  Many tribes in the world today still do not have the Scriptures in their own language. There are tribes in Kenya today who have never seen a Bible and could not read it even if they had it in their own language.  And yet in the Bible we 
are shown the way of eternal life.

Let us resolve today to hold on to the instruction we have received from God's precious word and to live by it, "for it is your life."  Let us also pray for those engaged in the precious ministry of translating God's word so that those who are still living in darkness and ignorance may see the light of God's salvation in Christ and seek to follow Him.

(overseas mission partner)