Exodus 2:11-15 – No One’s Watching

Read Exodus 2:11-15

Can you imagine what it was like growing up as an Israelite wearing Egyptian clothes? Moses had to be so conflicted. He was probably immune to the suffering of “his” people living in the palace with his princess mother. It was probably a very posh upbringing, compared to what it would have been had he stayed with his birth mother.

In today’s passage, we see a frustrated Moses. He obviously knew they were “his” people and wanted to connect. His visit was probably innocent enough, at first. What he saw, an Egyptian beating one of the Hebrew slaves. That behavior wasn’t acceptable, but it seems Moses’ anger burned deeply as if he was the one being attacked. What did he do?

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Exodus 2:1-10 – Meet Moses

Read Exodus 2:1-10

When you know a Bible story because you have read it, watched it on the big screen (The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston), taught it in Sunday School for years, and read it some more…it can be hard to read it fresh. If this is your first time through the book of Exodus, fantastic! I’m so glad to have you here. But, if you’re like me, I challenge you to read as if it’s the first time. Allow God to show you something new.

That’s really my hope in writing these devotionals. As I am reading through the passages and reflecting on what they mean to me, I’m doing my best not to look ahead. The story will never change, but how it speaks to me can and will. If I let it. With all that being said, was there something that jumped out at you today?

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Exodus 1:1-22 – Enslaved

Read Exodus 1:1-22

Exodus continues where Genesis left off in terms of the Israelite nation narrative, approximately 400 years later. If you need a little refresher on Genesis, I have reflected on that entire book previously, and you can search on previous entries. The setting that opens Exodus is the land of Egypt. You will recall Joseph and his entire family had moved to this land when the severe famine attacked their homeland. Joseph had been there much longer and had a very prestigious position, having helped the Egyptian people in a big way. But unfortunately, it seems, his legacy did not live on in the memories of the new Pharaoh and officials.

The legacy did continue in terms of being fruitful. God promised Abraham he would be the father of a great nation. That multitude of descendants was now enslaved because of the Egyptian’s fear of losing power or control to such a mass of people.

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Romans 16:1-27 – The Benediction

Read Romans 16:1-27

Paul concludes this letter to the Romans with a beautiful benediction. First, however, he calls out a special greeting to those believers already in Rome. If he hasn’t come to Rome yet, it seems hard to fathom how he already knows so many people there. Especially without social media! It’s hard to imagine what life was like. But Paul had already started building relationships with many people who now apparently have moved to Rome.

We are all missionaries when it comes to sharing the Gospel. Jesus has entrusted each of us to tell of his love and sacrifice. When we tell others, and they tell others, there is a ripple effect. We can’t let the ripple die out. We need to be encouraging each other at all times to keep the ripple moving.

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Romans 15:23-33 – Paul’s Prayer Request

Read Romans 15:23-33

Paul is looking forward to meeting the Christians in Rome, but he’s got some difficult tasks facing him before he can do so. He is sending a request for prayer in this passage. That’s a good reminder to us to be asking our own brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us.

How many times have you told someone, “I’ll pray for you.” There is comfort in those words. Many times, that’s the best thing we can offer to do. God is a better problem solver than we could ever dream of being. I don’t know about you, but I so much more prefer to pray right there on the spot when someone shares a prayer request. I remember the first time someone did that with me. We were standing in the middle of a hotel lobby. Not the most opportune location, but once in prayer I didn’t really care. Sometimes timing or location doesn’t allow for that, but how affirming and calming the instant prayers can be.

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