Day 25 – Never give up on what God calls you to complete….the outcome will always outweigh the output.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 39:1 – Leviticus 1:17

Exodus 40:38 “For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.”

As we bring Exodus to a close we find the Israelites taking on the calling the Lord gave to them through Moses. Every bit of the tabernacle needed to be complete, and they probably found themselves getting exhausted, having life hit them in the face, family emergencies popping up, and just ready to quit right where they were. However, the Israelites never quit. They worked with perseverance until the job was completed just as specified. Each garment for Aaron and the priests were being perfectly weaved together, giving Moses the opportunity to thank them and bless the work they had done.

The feeling of accomplishment and gratitude by our superiors always fills me with a sense of Joy and Pleasure. But when I do what God has asked me to do, no matter how difficult or time consuming, the Presence of the Lord fills me with the greatest delight and Pure Amazement in what He has accomplished through me.

In the final verses of Exodus you will see that God took this same pleasure in the Israelites as He descended upon the completed Tabernacle with all His Glory. He wants to also descend upon each of us, filling the work of our hands with His Glory. God has great plans for you, and He wants to see each call on your life come to completion.

Dear Heavenly Father, You have a call on me even when I don’t see it. Help me to stay focused on you and never give up. Please Lord allow me to see your Glory around me as I work for you and not for man. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Day 24 – If only the the spark in our heart would light a fire in the entirety of our body then the stirring of the Spirit would lead to a passion for God’s will to be done.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 34:1 – 38:31

Exodus 35:20-21, 36:6-7 “Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments…So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.”

Moses had finally come down from the mountain with His face shining from being in the presence of the Glory of the Lord. He explained to all the people of Israel the regulations and requests of God to make the tabernacle and all its furnishings. The people’s hearts were so moved by the Holy Spirit that they moved into immediate action and fulfilled the need with more than enough. The stirring that happened inside them didn’t just stop them in their tracks or cause them to contemplate what just happened, but instead it stirred them into fervent action for the Will of God by the prompting of the Spirit.

If only we would be moved into this type of action when the Spirit stirs us. The Spirit is constantly moving in us like a starter flame on a gas fireplace, always ready to ignite for the Lord’s Will, and when it needs us to act, it stirs our heart like the first flame that pops up, Quick and Hot. But if we don’t let the fire burn it will turn off and return to that gas with no light.

When my heart is stirred I pray that the Lord turns it into a burning fire because we live in a world with many distractions and these distractions quickly move our focus onto other things. If only we would act in the moment and not push off the stirring, what great work we could do for the Kingdom of Heaven. God is wanting to accomplish His amazing works through us, what’s stopping you?

Dear Heavenly Father, Please start a fire within me. Please turn a spark into burning flame and let me live my life for you. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Day 23 – Whether your wait on the Lord feels like a minute or forever, the Lord’s Will is always worth the Wait.

Today’s Reading: 29:1 – 33:23

Exodus 32:7-8 “And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”

As the days were passing and Moses was still meeting with the Lord, the Israelites began to get restless and complained to Aaron. They couldn’t handle the wait any longer and wanted Aaron to make them another god. So Aaron, in a cowardly fashion, agreed to the demand of the people and took their gold to throw into the fire. Once the gold was all melted Aaron pulled out a mass that looked like a calf, and the Israelites began to worship it.

Many time, and I mean “many” times, from birth to death, we humans become impatient in the wait. We hate to wait on hold, in lines, for water to boil, for marriage, for babies, for graduation, for the test results, and for God’s Will. And no matter how long the wait is we feel like it’s forever. Like the Israelites, instead of waiting, we most often force relationships, skip ahead, lie, make bad decisions, change our course, seek peace in the wrong place with the wrong stuff in the wrong hands. We may make drugs, sex, money, work, men, or something else our god. Then when we reap the consequences of not waiting we gain a huge heap of guilt and frustrations.

God needs us to wait on Him so we can experience His better plan. During the wait He is preparing us for the next step and His future blessings.

When God found the Israelites worshiping the calf He wanted to kill them all, but Moses stopped Him, yet some were still killed that day.

We must determine to wait on God no matter how long it feels. And during the wait we can take time to Pray and Seek Him, for He will fill our wait with Peace beyond our Belief.

Dear Heavenly Father, Waiting is Hard, but this kind of Hard is the Hard Good because Good will come from the Hard. Please help me to wait on you in every situation and every circumstance that I come across. Please help me to wait on you and your plan. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Day 22 – Wearing a cross is like wearing a wedding ring…the wedding ring doesn’t make you married and the cross doesn’t make you a Christian, but both remind you of the promise you made and the one by whom you made it you are not ashamed.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 26:1-28:43

Exodus 28:2, 12 “And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance.”

Moses is stilling giving out the exact specifications and instructions for construction of the tabernacle and all of its furnishings. God goes on to tell Moses specifically that he has filled each skillful person with everything they need to be used for a specific purpose, one of which is making the special garments for Aaron and the other priests.

On Aaron’s garments there will be 2 stones on the shoulders and 12 stones on the breastpiece of judgement worn over the heart. All of these stones are to be a reminder of the sons of Israel and the promise God gave to them as well as the judgement He holds over them.

We too wear a reminder of the sin that was taken away, as the Almighty Judge did for us on the cross, and that is the cross we wear as well as the cross we bear. So when you wear your cross and you take on that reminder, remember others will also see you and know you by your cross. Wear it well and let it Glorify Him.

Dear Heavenly Father, I love the reminder of the cross and the gift you gave through it. But sometimes, in my humanity, I forget the gift, so I chose to keep it inked on me forever. Please let me be reminded every time I look down and see my wrist, remembering the work you did on the cross. And when I remember Let me reflect you. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Day 21 – God is our Great Craftsman. He thinks in specifications of perfection, always creating, from the beginning until Eternity.

Todays Reading: Exodus 23:1-25:40

Exodus 25:8-9 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”

God created the Heavens and the Earth exactly how He wanted them. He gave Noah specific measurements for the Ark. Now we find Him giving Moses the exact specifications for the sanctuary He is to dwell in.

Later in His-story, God sends His Son to the earth to the home of a carpenter to be a craftsman Himself here in human form. His Son then returned to Heaven as a craftsman, preparing a place for us.

As a craftsman, God has a vision, a specific plan, of exactly what He wants. He knows what it will look like if the steps are followed as He’s laid them out for us. If we mess up just one step in the masterpiece God first envisioned there will be a dent or a crack. But thankfully carpenters always have a way to fix the flaws – nothing like a bit of putty and some paint.

See, as this craftsman, this Visionary, He also created us. He had the perfect plan for us, but we goofed up and became flawed by the likes of sin. But His Son, the carpenter, fixed all by giving His life to fill in our cracks and wipe the stain of His blood across our lives so that we can become the original Masterpiece, His Craftsman Father, planned in the beginning. All to be made in His Likeness!

Dear Heavenly Father, You are the Greatest Craftsmen ever to be. You created everything I see, even me. And what is wonderful, is you looked and said, it is good. Thank you for the work you did, are doing and will do. Please let me always see the good you see. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Day 20 – While the cat’s away, the mice shall play….In every situation, the cat is actually Rules, and when rules are taken out of a situation “play” becomes “havoc” and “havoc” becomes Dangerous! Rules from God are not put in place to harm us or remove us from a fun activity, they are literally “set in stone” to protect, help, and lead us closer to Him.

Todays reading: Exodus 20:1 – 22:31.

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Exodus 20:2.

God gave Moses the 10 Commandments to bring a system of order to the Israelites. They had been in captivity for so long that freedom felt like a removal of any type of rule.

Without rules, the sin of our world, would bring more disaster than we already see. You can witness this in the laws that make some freedoms a cause for bondage.

God’s Law, however, brought a sense of Freedom with it.

These Life Rules are as follows: 1) you shall not have any other God besides Him – more gods bring more rules; 2) you shall not make idols of any kind – the more you idolize the harder it is to feel complete; 3) you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain – show Him respect and He will show you His love; 4) remember the Sabbath by keeping it Holy – 6 days to work and a day to rest, take it; 5) Honor your Father and Mother – God brought you into this life through them for a reason; 6) you shall not murder – the blood of a man, woman, or child on your hands will live in your mind forever; 7) you shall not commit adultery – your spouse is a gift, be thankful for it and it will be a gift that keeps on giving; 8) you shall not steal – and God shall give you everything you could ever need; 9) you shall not bear false witness – a lie will haunt you until it is known; 10) you shall not covet anything – someone will always have something you don’t have and you will always have something they don’t have, so be thankful for what you have.

Each of these rules can be difficult to obey in certain situations, yet God says obey them all. When we don’t obey we feel shameful and hide, but when we do we can walk with the reflection of God at our side.

Dear Heavenly Father, As difficult as rules may seem, I know that your rules bring Freedom. Thank you for giving us these and thank you that even when we do fail you give us grace and mercy through your son. Please help me to always take up your rules as a shield of faith to guard me against sins arrows. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Day 19 – At some point, everyone’s battle gets a little to hard to handle on our own; our bodies may get weak and our arms too tired, but that’s when the Lord will use others to encourage and strengthen us until we win the War.

Todays Reading: Exodus 17:1 – 19:25

Exodus 17:11-12 “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”

Up to this point Moses and Aaron were forging ahead in the wilderness as the lone leaders. The complaints were burdensome and battles were up ahead.

God began to place people around Moses that he would build strong relationships with to help in the days to come. At one such battle the Israelites were to fight the Amalekites, a fierce people, but God would use Joshua as the leader of the battle and use Hur and Aaron to hold up Moses arms so the War could be won.

God may also bring in people from your past to help when you least expect it. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, would lead Moses with wisdom and guidance for the burdens he was carrying from the people’s worries.

It is the love of people God has placed in my life, my family and friends, past and future, each one being like a thread of gold that have helped sew my heart back together after losing my son. This being the beauty that shines forth from the ashes.

God has never been alone, not even in creating the world. He has done all things as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He clings to relationships because that’s what He wants from us. Don’t let any “thing” become more important than your relationship with Him and with others because that “thing” may give you a seat to sit on but it won’t be able to hold up your arms when the war needs to be won.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the people you have brought into my life that have helped me when I’m weak, when I’m hurting, when I just need encouragement. Please help me to never rely on my own power, but to always accept the love of you and others. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Day 18 – When the Lord parts the sea and gives you dry ground to walk on, don’t keep looking for the next miracle, instead Praise Him for what He has already done.

Todays Reading: Exodus 13:1 – 16:36

Exodus 15:13 “In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.”

It wasn’t long after the Israelites left Egypt that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened once again and he went to retrieve the Israelites and bring them back. But the people of Israel found themselves backed up to the Red Sea with nowhere to run, so God told Moses to lift up his arms with the staff and He would make a path for them.

Moses did as he was told and the waters began to part and dry ground was formed between the walls of water and the Israelites passed through the Red Sea. Pharaoh and his men tried to follow them through the waters, but God made the walls of water fall around them. The Egyptians then, weren’t just able see, but also know the Glory of the Lord.

Yet with this amazing miracle happening before the eyes of the Israelites they still found room to complain about bitter water, no food to eat, and every other little thing along the way. When they should have been trusting the Lord they were doubting that He would provide.

No matter what, God always provides and the water became sweet and quail was given for meat and manna for bread.

Often in our own walks we feel like we are up against the Red Sea with no where to go and no boat to take us across, but God parts the waters instead and allows us to pass through. We stand on the other side now in great amazement for a moment, then a day passes, a week passes, and we forget what He’s already done and begin to grumble again about our next trial.

Dear Heavenly Father, I will praise you for what you’ve already done. Help me not to grumble about what I don’t yet see but instead help me to wait with patience trusting you will provide everything I need. Even when you provide in ways I’ve never thought of. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Day 17 – It may take 1 act of kindness or 10 plagues of gnats, but one way or another God’s going to get your attention.

Todays reading: Exodus 8:1 – 12:51

Exodus 9:15-16 “For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

In the end every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

For Pharaoh, it took 10 dreadful plagues to acknowledge God and let the Israelites go. After the 1st and 2nd plague Egyptians were turning to the Lord, but Pharaoh’s heart was so hardened that death alone was going to get his attention. The final plague not only took the life of Pharaoh’s firstborn child, but also every first born child in the kingdom except those that were passed over because of recognition of God’s required Passover Lamb.

I have a feeling every ounce of Pharaoh’s being was wishing and regretting that he hadn’t believed earlier and was crying out to God in repentance.

There is nothing in this world like losing your child, but in that moment you have the choice to draw near to God or be angry with God. In both situations you know He is God.

As Pharaoh let the Israelites go in a fury, God didn’t say, well I’ve got you this far, you can do the rest on your own; No, He paved the way in the wilderness with His cloud of smoke by day and His fire by night.

Once we acknowledge the Lord for who He is, He will always pave the way for us. Don’t let your heart be hardened by the situations or trials you encounter, recognize the one trying to get your attention and follow Him as He paves the way for your future.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for always making yourself known in each situation I encounter. Please Lord, never let me get overwhelmed by the darkness but always see and acknowledge your light. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Day 16 – When your resume doesn’t match the job description don’t forget who created you for the job.

Today’s reading: Exodus 4:1 – 8:32.

Exodus 4:10 “Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

God didn’t stutter or question who was to save the Israelites from Egypt, He knew all along it should be Moses. But Moses questioned whether the Israelites would believe him that God chose him, so God provided Moses with a powerful staff.

Then Moses questioned whether Pharaoh would listen to Moses because Moses wasn’t an eloquent speaker or didn’t have adequate words to say, but God said ‘Didn’t I created your mouth and tongue and provide you with the words to say?!’

Moses might not have felt capable, and alone, he possibly wasn’t capable, but with God, Moses was more than qualified. God would go before him, be with him, and be behind him every step of the way. And in the end, Mose’s incapabilities would make God’s capabilities shine Brighter than any Pharaoh, sorcerer, magician, or common man.

God created each one of us for something special, something we may never have thought we were able to do on our own, but we don’t have to rely on our own capabilities, but God’s ability to work through us.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for creating me the way you did. Thank you for qualifying me for each call you have on me. Help me not to see myself the way the world does, but instead only see how you created me. In Jesus Name, Amen.