Tues.’s Devo - The Law is Given

Read: Exodus 19:16-21:21; Matthew 23:13-39; Psalm 28:1-9; Proverbs 7:1-5 On the morning of the third day, God came down in the cloud amidst thunder and lightning. The whole mountain shook and was surrounded with smoke. A ram’s horn blew and got louder and louder. God called Moses up into the cloud. *** The Lord told Moses to go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see him or they would die - even the priests. So Moses told them this. Then God spoke to them the ten commandments. He reminded them that he was the one who brought them out of Egypt and freed them from their bondage. He was the only one they should worship. They were not to represent him in any man-made way, or worship his creation. God was a jealous god and would punish their sins upon the third and fourth generation, but he would show mercy to those who kept his commandments. *** His commandments are self-explanatory with the first four having to do with man’s relationship with God, and the other six with man’s relationship with man. *** After God had spoken these, the people were so afraid of God’s voice that they told Moses to speak to them for God, because it scared them to death. That was exactly what God intended to do. He wanted them to fear him so they wouldn’t sin and hurt themselves. *** The people backed away from the mountain in fear but God spoke to Moses further. He told Moses that they were not to make him a god of silver or gold, but they could make an altar of the earth to burn their sacrifices on. If they made an altar of stone it couldn’t be hewn stones. God’s altar was to have nothing to do with man’s work. Neither were there to be steps going to the altar that their nakedness would not be seen. ***Symbolically, we do not have to climb “steps” to get to God. We come to him as we are and he accepts a pure heart. We may not pray the “sinner’s prayer” or believe, repent, and confess; salvation is not a formula. A simple prayer from a sincere and humble heart is totally acceptable to God. The Holy Spirit leads a person through the process. *** The laws after that were very specific and fair. A person who bought a Hebrew as a slave had to set him free after six years. We who have been slaves to an evil system for six thousand years are about to have our Jubilee and be set free, but it will be our choice to take it. Some in this case couldn’t leave things and people they had gotten attached to. In our day it will be the same. The one who chose to stay with his wife and children was not condemned but he was marked as a slave forever. We can take that both ways. We choose to be a slave to the gospel, just as Paul said he was a slave to Christ. God made sure the person had a choice in the matter. We will have to wait and see how this plays out in the future. *** Verse 16 deals with kidnapping and trafficking people. The sentence is death. We are about to see that one play out in the next year. *** In Matthew, Jesus unleashes a chain of offenses against the scribes and Pharisees. They were the ones who were in charge of leading the people to God, but instead they made it impossible to approach him or please him. They made the people think that they had obtained this position with God when they were farther from God than the people. Every time Jesus said, “Woe” he was saying “Cursed”. He was proclaiming their sentence. He ended it with “You will not see me till you can say, ‘Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.’” *** Lord, may we have clean hands and a pure heart. May we be fair and have love for our enemies. May we not judge but rejoice in righteousness and justice. May our godly leaders have wisdom and always fear you.

Mon.’s Devo - Kingdom of Priests

Read: Exodus 17:8-19:15; Matthew 22:34-23:12; Psalm 27:7-14; Proverbs 6:27-35 God had just given them water in the wilderness and the Amalekites came out to fight them. No doubt they wanted their water. Everyone had heard about their deliverance from Egypt, but the Amalekites apparently had no fear of God or thought their gods were greater than the gods of Egypt. *** They were in Rephidim which means “banisters.” Moses commanded Joshua to choose some warriors and go out and fight the Amalekites. *** Moses took his staff and as long as he held his arms up like a banister, they prevailed, but when he dropped them, the Amalekites prevailed. Aaron and Hur held his arms up so they could defeat them. God told Moses to write down on a scroll and read it to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Moses build an altar to the Lord and called it Jehovah-Nissi which means “Jehovah my banner.” *** God told Saul to defeat the Amalekites but he lost his kingdom over them (1 Samuel 30:1-20). It was the tribe of Simeon who finally defeated them in 1 Chronicles 4:43. *** While in Egypt, Moses and Zipporah had another son and named him Eliezer which means “God is my helper.” He had sent his family back to Jethro’s home to be safe. Jethro now met with Moses to reunite his family and hear the stories of Egypt that he had just heard of through the grapevine. Jethro rejoiced with him and blessed him for all the goodness God had done for Israel. *** All day long, the people came to Moses with their disputes.He listened and judged according to God’s precepts. (Remember, the law had not yet been given.) Jethro witnessed this and told Moses he would burn out if he continued doing this day after day. He suggested Moses train other men to handle the small complaints, leaving the big ones for him. He took Jethro’s advice and found men that feared God, loved truth, and hated bribes. He would teach them his laws and let them judge the people on most problems, leaving the hard cases for Moses. *** In the third month since they had left Egypt, God met with Moses on the base of Mount Sinai. God told him to tell the people that he brought them out of Egypt to be his kingdom of priests, his holy nation. If they obey his laws and kept his covenant, they would be God’s special treasure. Moses met with the elders and told them what God said, and they promised to obey the Lord. Moses took their answer back to the Lord and he told Moses that he would come to Moses in a thick cloud and speak to him so the people could hear him so they would trust Moses. *** Moses told the people what God had said and they agreed to be God’s people. Moses reported back to the Lord. Then God told Moses to go down and prepare the people for His coming. They were to consecrate themselves, washing their clothes and getting ready because on the third day, the Lord would come to Mt. Sinai. They were to mark off a boundary around the mountain and warn the people not to touch the mountain. (Mt. Sinai was a tall mountain that you could actually walk up and touch.) *** In Matthew, the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, so they stepped up to take their turn. One of their experts came up with a question to trap Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” *** Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the greatest and the second is equally as important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the laws would be fulfilled if these two laws were done. Then Jesus asked them a question. He asked them what they thought about the Messiah and whose son he was. They answered that he was the son of David. Jesus then asked them why David called the Messiah his Lord in Psalm 110:1? How could he be his son and his Lord. They could’t answer him and no one dared to ask another question after that. Every time they tried to trap Jesus, he turned it on them and trapped them. *** Jesus turned to the crowd and told them that the religious leaders taught the law but they didn’t live it ,so they could listen to what they said, but should not follow what they did. They crushed the people under their man-made laws and never had mercy. *** Everything they said was a cover-up for their sins. They were the essence of a hypocrite. They loved their titles but did not live up to them. Jesus told them they were all equal so they should never call anyone on earth their Father or their Teacher because only God is their Father and Jesus is the Teacher. The greatest title they should have is Servant. The way to be exalted is to humble oneself. *** Lord, may we realize that everything we have comes from you. You are our Father and our Teacher and our Helper. We are honored to be your kingdom of priests, your holy nation.

Sun.’s Devo - Tests

Read: Exodus 15:19-17:7; Matthew 22:1-33; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26 Miriam and the women danced and played their tambourines as they sang that God had triumphed over their enemies by throwing them into the sea. *** Moses led the people into the Wilderness of Shur which means “behold”. They looked for water for three days and could find none. They complained to Moses and God had him find a piece of wood that when he threw it into the water, it became potable. Then, God told them what he wanted them to “behold” from this. If they would listen carefully to what God says and obey his words then they would be free from all the disease that he brought upon the Egyptians because he is their healer. *** Their next test was in the Valley of Sin. They had been traveling for a whole month and had run out of bread. They complained that they were going to die, and that they should have stayed in Egypt. God told Moses he was going to rain down bread from heaven for them. They were to gather a certain amount every day which would be a test to see if they could obey. On the sixth day they were to gather for two days. In the evening, God would give them meat to eat. When he said this, the congregation looked toward the wilderness and saw the glory of the Lord in the cloud. *** That evening, God sent quails that covered the camp and in the morning there was frost on the ground that they had never seen before. Moses told them this was the bread God had promised them. They were to gather enough to last a day for their families. Whatever they gathered, it was enough. Some of them gathered for the next day too and it turned to worms and stunk. Moses was upset with them because they couldn’t believe and obey. *** On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much, because the next day was the Sabbath. Those that didn’t obey and gather enough for two days found no frost the next day. The people called this Manna which was like a seed but tasted like wafers made with honey. *** God had Moses gather a pot of manna to preserve for their generations as a Testimony of how God cared for them in the wilderness. *** They traveled on to Rephidim which means “balusters” where there was no water. They complained to Moses once again and talked of stoning him. God told him to take an elder with him and his staff and God would stand upon the rock in Horeb. Moses was the smite the rock and water would come out of it. Moses obeyed and the elders witnessed it. He renamed the place Massah meaning “enduring burden” and Meribah meaning “strife.” The people had become an enduring burden to him because of their striving with the Lord and always questioning if God was with them or not. *** In Matthew, Jesus continued to teach about his kingdom. A king prepared a great wedding feast for his son, but when it was all prepared, he found no one on his list wanted to come. They were all preoccupied with their own lives to celebrate with him. Some insulted and killed his messengers, so he sent his army out to kill the murderers and burn down their towns. Then he invited those who weren’t worthy of his invitation. The servants brought in anyone they could find who would come and filled the banquet hall. *** When the king came in, he found one guest who wasn’t wearing the outer robe and had him kicked out into outer darkness. The king made the statement that many were invited but few were elected. *** We are experiencing this as we see the leaders of huge churches debunked and those who are not serious about following Jesus, falling by the wayside. The new crop of people that will come in will be the unqualified by our standards, but honored by God’s They will be elected by God to carry on God’s work on earth. *** The man with out the proper clothes wasn’t wearing the robe of righteousness meaning he was not saved. He was not allowed to celebrate with believers. *** The Pharisees met to discuss how to trap Jesus in to saying something they could arrest him for. They gathered some of the men who supported Herod and went to Jesus with their question. They asked Jesus if he thought it was right to pay taxes to Caesar or not. He asked them why they were trying to trap him. Then, he took a coin and asked them whose picture was on it. When they told him Caesar’s, he told them to give to Caesar what was his, and give to God what belonged to him. They went away scratching their heads. *** Next, the Sadducees took their turn. They didn’t believe in the resurrection, so they asked him a question around that. They knew that Moses taught that if a man died without children, the deceased brother was to marry the widow and have a child for his brother. Their question was: If she marred him and he died and this happened through all seven brothers, whose wife would she be in the resurrection? *** Jesus knew that this question had nothing to do with their desire to understand the law, but their desire to trap him about the question of resurrection, so he went straight to the point. He told them that their problem was they didn’t understand how powerful God was. When a person dies, and is raised, he will not be married. And, concerning the resurrection…God said that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. he was the God of the living and not the dead. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be raised to life again. The crowds were amazed at Jesus’ teaching and the Sadducees were silenced. *** Lord, your truth cannot be silenced. Truth speaks louder than lies. May we hear your truth above the lies.

Sat.’s Devo - Stand, and See the Salvation of the Lord

Read: Exodus 13:17-15:18; Matthew 21:23-46; Psalm 26:1-12; Proverbs 6:16-19 When Pharaoh let Israel go, God led them the long way through the wilderness instead of through the Philistine land. He didn’t want them to face a battle and get discouraged and go back to Egypt. *** Moses took the bones of Joseph with him and camped at Ethan. God shielded them from the sun with a pillar of cloud during the day and provided light with a pillar of fire at night. This allowed them to travel day and night, if need be. God led them to camp at Pi-hahiroth which means “mouth of the defiled,” across from Baal-zephon which means “baal of the north.” God told Moses that Pharaoh would think they were trapped between them and the sea and come after them which was all part of God’s plan. Right in front of their gods, God was going to have the last say. *** It worked, because Pharaoh came with 600 of his best chariots and his troops. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians approaching, they began complaining they should have never left Egypt; being their slaves was better than being dead. *** But, Moses told them to just stand still and watch the Lord rescue them. The Egyptians they saw today, they would never see again. The Lord himself was going to fight for them. *** Then the Lord told Moses to stop praying and start moving. He told Moses to take his staff and raise it over the sea and divide it so the people could walk through the middle. the Egyptians would follow them and see his glory and know that He is the Lord. *** The angel of the Lord went from leading the front of the group, to guarding the back. The pillar of cloud followed and rested between the camp of the Egyptians and the Israelites. It stayed there all night. Moses raised his hand over the sea and God opened up a path through it. The wind blew all night making the seabed dry so that the people could walk through on dry ground. *** The Egyptians followed them but God threw them into total confusion and their wheels twisted. It became so obvious that God was fighting against them the Egyptians wanted to get away from the Israelites. 
 *** When the Israelites got to the other side, God told Moses to stretch forth his hand over the sea and it all went back into place, drowning the Egyptians. Not at single one survived. *** They all sang to the Lord, praising God for what he had just done for them. *** In Matthew, Jesus returned to the Temple to teach. The leading priests came to him and asked how he thought he had the authority to teach the people. Jesus asked them if John’s authority to baptize came from heaven or was it just of himself. They were caught in a dilemma. They couldn’t say it was just of John, because the people believed John was a prophet, so they told Jesus they didn’t know. So since, they wouldn’t answer where John got his authority, he wouldn’t tell them where he got his. *** Jesus told the priests a story about a man who had two sons. He told the oldest one to go and work in the vineyard. The son refused, then changed his mind and went. Then the father told his other son to go and work in the vineyard. He said he would, but didn’t. Jesus asked them which one of the sons obeyed his father. They said the first one. Jesus explained that John was the first son. He came and they didn’t believe at first, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe John and his message, but the priests and teachers of the law refused to believe. They were the second son who said they believed in God, but did nothing to act on this belief. *** Jesus gave them another story about a man who owned a vineyard and put tenant farmers in charge, while he went to another land. At the time of the harvest, the master sent his men to collect his share of the harvest. The tenant farmers beat some, killed some, and stoned some. This happened repeatedly till finally, the owner sent his son, thinking they would have respect for him. They murdered him also. Jesus asked them, what they thought the owner should do with the tenant farmers? They answered that he should kill them and lease his land others who will give him his share of the crop after every harvest. *** Jesus asked them if they had ever read the scripture that said, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful its see.” *** Then Jesus said that the Kingdom of God would be taken away from them and given to someone who would produce proper fruit. He added that that stone would be crushed, but then it would crush anyone it falls on. Then, the priests realized that the story had been about them. They had killed all God’s prophets and refused to be convicted of their murders and sins. They were stuck. They couldn’t arrest Jesus because of the people, who thought Jesus was a prophet. *** Lord, it is time for a change of leadership in the world and in the church. May we be given wise men who will honor your kingdom and fear You. May we do our part and serve where we are. Thank you for Jesus’ example of one who wouldn’t stand down to intimidation and lies. May we have boldness and courage to stand and see your salvation.

Fri.’s Devo - The Tenth Plague - God Wins!

Read: Exodus 12:14-13:16; Matthew 20:29-21:22; Psalm 25:16-22; Proverbs 6:12-15 The first day of Unleavened bread was the day they left the land of Egypt and was to be celebrated every year after that. It was the fourteenth day of the month and started at evening. They were to eat no unleavened bread for a week. That night they were to eat the passover lamb they had selected on the 10th. They were to take hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in a basin under the doorpost. With the hyssop they were to smear the blood of the lamb on the sides and top of the door posts. This was the sign for the Lord to pass over their house and not kill their firstborn. This blood made the cross. Blood at the bottom in the bowl was where Jesus feet were nailed. At the top where he wore the crown of thorns and the sides where he was nailed. They were safe because they passed through the door of the cross into salvation. *** That night at midnight the tenth plague hit Egypt as the death angel flew over the land of Egypt, killing all the firstborn child and animals of all who lived in Egypt. *** God told Moses to get the people and leave that night. They were to take everything, even the dough before it had leavened and the gold and silver that the Egyptians had given them. They plundered Egypt of its wealth. They traveled to Succoth which means “booths”. They left exactly 430 years from the day they had come. *** God told them to “consecrate” or “set apart” all the firstborn and the firstborn males shall be the Lord’s. They must be redeemed. The firstborn of a donkey had to be redeemed with a lamb. If you don’t want to redeem it, you must break its neck. *** The firstborn has to do with a person’s first birth which is natural. To be set apart to the Lord, that person has to be “born again” - redeemed. *** Pharaoh was the donkey who was stubborn and refused to repent through all the nine plagues. So, his neck had to be broken by the loss of his firstborn. It took this to make him let God’s people free. *** In Matthew, when Jesus and his disciples left Jericho, they met two blind men who were sitting on the side of the road. When they heard it was Jesus coming, they began shouting for Jesus to have mercy on them. They called him “Son of David” indicating that they knew he was the Messiah. Jesus stopped and asked them what they wanted and they said, “to see”. Jesus healed them and they began following him. *** They stopped at Bethpage which means “green fig house”. This is where Jesus stayed until his disciples brought him a donkey to ride into town. It had been prophesied that the Messiah would come to them riding on a donkey. Jesus had ridden into Bethlehem in the womb of Mary who rode on a donkey. Now he would enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey. *** The disciples put their own clothes for Jesus to sit on and the crowd laid out their clothes for Jesus to walk on and sang the Hallel from Psalm 115-118. They always sang these songs as they traveled to Jerusalem every festival. They were at the part where it says “Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Psalm 118:25. *** Jesus entered the temple and cleansed it of the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. Figuratively he was destroying the platforms and those who sat in the seats of those platforms. The merchants were stealing from the people deceitfully and selling them false religion. The Temple which was supposed to be a house of prayer had become a den of thieves. The leaders saw the miracles that Jesus was doing and the response from the people and questioned Jesus about it. He asked them if they had ever read the Scriptures… he could have stopped there, but he continued. The scriptures teach that perfect praise comes from the children and infants. He was quoting Psalm 8:2 and the rest of the sentence is “because of thine enemies, that thou might still the enemy and the avenger.” They, being the enemy and the avenger. *** Jesus returned to Bethany and the next morning on his way back to Jerusalem, he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went to see if it had any figs but it only had leaves. He cursed it and it immediately dried up. This fig tree represented Israel. They were not bearing fruit when he came to them, so they would die fruitless. *** When the disciples saw what Jesus did to the fig tree they asked how it died so quickly. Jesus told them that if they had faith, they could do this and more. They could even move mountains into the sea. It is all done with faith. *** What Jesus was demonstrating was the power to destroy the enemy. The leaves of the fig tree were suppose to be for healing of nations. Jesus destroyed their leaves because they were not healing but bringing disease and death. Leaves were also used for covering sin… remember in the Garden. The leaders in the synagogue used their position and rituals to hide their evil hearts. Jesus was saying to them that they had the power to defeat evil and to expose the enemies’ covering. All they had to do was to have faith. *** God is exposing the enemies plans and lies in America. *** By faith, we call all their plans to wither like this fig tree. We pray for God’s seed of his kingdom to grow and cover the earth with righteousness and goodness. May we have faith to see it.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Last Straw

Read: Exodus 10:1-12:13; Matthew 20:1-28; PSalm 25:1-15; Proverbs 6:6-11 God explained to Moses why Pharaoh wouldn’t let them go. It was the Lord who had hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and it was so God could display his miracles. They would tell these stories to their grandkids about the power of God on their behalf. *** Moses went back to Pharaoh and warned him that if he didn’t let Israel go, the land would be covered with locusts who would devour what was left after the hailstorm. Even Pharaoh’s officials begged Pharaoh to just let them go to worship their God. He agreed and sent for Moses and Aaron to ask them who they would be taking with them. When he heard it was all of them, he refused to let the children go. (That shows us how crazy this man was. Who was supposed to keep all those children for three days? He had clearly lost all cognitive thinking skills.) Pharaoh was so obsessed, he threw Moses and Aaron out. So, Moses lifted his staff over Egypt and the locusts came all through the night. They ate everything in sight. *** This time Pharaoh immediately summoned Moses and Aaron back. He did his repentance thing and Moses prayed. God blew the locusts into the Red Sea. (I wonder if the people saw those dead locusts when they crossed through the sea weeks later?) Once again, Pharaoh changed his mind and refused to let them go. God told Moses to lift his hand toward heaven and the land of Egypt was covered with darkness. One of their greatest gods was the sun. This was a darkness that was felt and lasted three days. But, in Goshen, there was light. *** Pharaoh gave permission for Moses and all the people to go, but they had to leave their flocks and herds in Egypt. Pharaoh refused to give up his power over them. Moses told him they needed their flocks to sacrifice. He refused to give Pharaoh an inch of power over them. Pharaoh threw him out again. He told Moses he would not see his face again and if he did, he would die. Moses agreed that he would not see Pharaoh’s face again, and left. *** God told Moses, He had one more big thing he wanted to do before he could let them leave Egypt. Then, the Pharaoh would be so glad to let them go, he will throw them out. He was pretty good at that! The people were to go to their Egyptian neighbors and ask for silver and gold. God would cause them to generously give to them. *** Moses went and made an announcement to Pharaoh that at midnight, that night, God would pass through the heart of Egypt and kill all the firstborn sons in every family in Egypt and the firstborn of their cattle. The cry of mourning would be heard throughout the land, but in Goshen, they would sleep in peace. Then, Pharaoh would know that God makes a distinction between them and the Israelites. Then they would come to Moses and bow, begging them to leave. Only then would Moses go! Moses left burning with anger. He showed Pharaoh who was in charge! *** God had told Moses that this month, the seventh month, would be the first month for them. So the end became the beginning. On the tenth of that month they were to take a lamb per family. On the evening of the fourteenth day, they were to to slaughter their lamb at twilight. They were to smear some of the blood on the sides and top of their door and then eat the meat. along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The meat had to be cooked over fire and completely eaten or burned. They were to eat it dressed for travel because this was the Lord’s Passover for them. The Lord’s Passover for the Egyptian was completely different. This was salvation and life for Israel and judgement and death for Egypt and their gods. When God sees the blood on their doors, he would pass over them and not strike them with death. *** This is the picture of salvation. Jesus is the lamb and when we have tasted his death in our inmost being, we are saved. They had to eat it dressed for action because faith without works is dead. They were about to walk out of bondage and into freedom which is what happens when we get born again. They got a new calendar beginning because they were reborn. Our new life starts the day we are crucified with Christ. Glory! *** In Matthew, Jesus gave the parable about the workers who all got the same day’s wage no matter how short or long they worked. Salvation is ours the day we embrace it and our new life begins. Salvation is a gift of grace, not works. *** As Jesus and his 12 disciples were going to Jerusalem, again Jesus told them the plan. He would be persecuted, crucified and rise on the third day. *** James and John’s mother asked if he would let her two sons sit on either side of his throne when he came to his kingdom. Jesus told her, she didn’t understand what she was asking, because the way to exaltation in his kingdom was by drinking the same cup of suffering he was about to drink. The men said they were ready to do that. Jesus told them they would indeed drink from this cup, but he had no say so in who would sit where. God made those decisions. *** The other disciples were pretty upset when they heard what they were talking about. Jesus explained the way of God’s kingdom. It was not the way it was with the earthly kings. In God’s kingdom the leaders came from those who were willing to serve others. *** Lord, may were remember that this life on earth is our testing ground. We are living for eternity, not for our rewards on earth. With all we are given, may we glorify and testify of you and your kingdom.

Wed.’s Devo - The Plagues

Read: Exodus 8:1-9:35; Matthew 19:13-30; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 6:1-5 The Nile was full of blood and now God sent Pharaoh back to him to tell him if they didn’t let the people go to worship God, He would send a plague of frogs. They would come out of the river and into every area of their lives. Then Aaron raised his hand over the waters and it happened. Pharaoh’s sorcerers were able to do the same thing, but obviously, they couldn’t take them away. *** After a while, the pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and begged them to take the frogs away. When Moses asked him when this should happen, he said, tomorrow. No doubt, he had some reason for not saying, “right now”. It probably had to do with some ritualistic number of the day or something crazy like that. These plagues were against the gods of Egypt so every plague was associated with with a god the Egyptians worshipped. *** Moses prayed and the frogs died and remained only in the Nile. Now, the problem was all the dead and stinking frogs. One false god - gone! *** Next, God struck the ground and destroyed their land. The dust on the ground became gnats. This time, Pharaoh’s men couldn’t counterfeit it. They claimed it was the finger of God. *** God sent Moses back to meet Pharaoh on his way to the river. He told him that if they didn’t let God’s people go he would also get swarms of flies. But this time, he would spare the land of Goshen where God’s people lived. God would draw a line and separate his people from Pharaoh’s. *** It happened just like Moses said and the whole land of Egypt was thrown into chaos because of the flies. *** Pharaoh called Moses in and told him to go make sacrifices but they had to stay in the land of Egypt. Moses explained that they couldn’t offer the sacrifices God required where the Egyptians could see because they would retaliate. They worshiped the animals, God required for the sacrifice. They must go three days away. Pharaoh finally agreed but told him not to go too far. *** Moses prayed and the flies disappeared but Pharaoh refused to let them go. *** God sent Moses back to Pharaoh to tell him that if they continued to hold them back from sacrificing to him. he would strike all their livestock with a deadly plague. It would not affect the cattle of Goshen. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but none in Goshen died. Pharaoh’s heart still remained shut and he wouldn’t let them leave. *** God told Moses and Aaron to take soot from their oven and let Moses throw it into the air while Pharaoh was watching. The ashes became boils that broke out on the people and animals. The magicians were not able to stand before Moses. They had lost their arrogance, but Pharaoh was still proud and hardened. *** God sent Moses back to meet with Pharaoh and tell him that God could have killed him long time ago, but allowed him to live to show him His power and to spread His witness over the earth. Tomorrow, God would send a storm of hail like he had never seen before. He warned him to bring in any livestock and his servants out in the fields or they would be killed by the hail. Some of his servants did heed the warning, but those who didn’t lost whatever was left outside. *** The storm was full of thunder, hail and lightning like had never been upon the earth. It left Egypt in ruins, but Goshen was untouched by the storm. Pharaoh quickly called for Moses and Aaron and this time he actually confessed he had sinned and that God was the righteous God; his people were wrong. He begged Moses to ask God to end the storm. He promised to let God’s people go. But after all this, God said that Pharaoh and his officials still didn’t fear Him. Their talk was good, but their hearts were still not changed. Sure enough, as soon as Moses prayed and the stormed stopped, Pharaoh changed his mind…again. *** In Matthew, parents brought their children for Jesus to lay his hands on and bless. The disciples tried to stop the parents, but Jesus objected. He wanted to bless the children because the Kingdom of Heaven belonged to them. *** A man came to Jesus and asked what good deed could he do to have eternal life. Jesus answered to keep the commandments. The man explained he did that so what else must he do. Jesus told him if you want to be perfect, then give all your money to the poor and follow him. The man left sad because, he owned much. *** Jesus told his disciples that it was almost impossible for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. His disciples were shocked because they had been taught by the priests that wealth was a sign of God’s approval on a person. They asked, then who could be saved. Jesus answered it was impossible to do it in the flesh, but could only be done through God. That rich man was trying to make it to heaven with his works. He was trying to be good enough to enter heaven but Jesus was saying that there would always be something he wouldn’t be able to master. Only through Christ and his grace, can we be saved. Only being like the children, can we see God. *** Then, Jesus gave them a glimpse into the Kingdom on earth. Jesus would sit upon the throne and his disciples would sit upon thrones with him and judge the tribes of Israel. Everyone who has died to this world to choose Christ will be rewarded a hundred times in return and they will inherit eternal life. The ones who are great in the world now will be the least and vice versa. *** Lord, we look forward to the regeneration of the world when the world is restored to your authority. We are watching this happen and rejoice. We will reign with you as kings and priests to You. May we have clean hands and pure hearts.