Category: Devotions

THURDAY 24^th

Exodus 33:12-23

NIV (v14) – ‘The LORD replied, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’

ESV (v14) – ‘And he said, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’

I mentioned this verse in the devotion for September 8^th, where it was given to me as a confirmation of the will of God for Elaine and myself back in 2006. When it comes to this verse, God has instructed Moses to move on from Sinai and to continue to make progress toward the land that flowed with milk and honey. Moses was reluctant to continue without some sort of guarantee from God to which God tells him, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’

I don’t know about you, but I would have been eager to get to the promised land, it seemed a much more pleasant place than both where they had left (Egypt) and where they were presently staying. But we see some of the problem was to do with the people of Israel themselves, verse 3 says that they were a stiff-necked people, this comes from a Hebrew word* which indicates hard-hearted and stubborn, (obstinance) without wanting to sound disrespectful, to use a modern phrase, pig-headed! I wonder where they got this from. If we wind back to Egypt, we find that it was also how the Pharaoh was described, Exodus 9:34-35, 13:15, so there was still something of the old ways still in the lives of the people of God as they were supposed to be progressing toward the promised land.

I wonder how often we suddenly discover something of our old nature rearing its ugly head. We are reminded in Scripture that In Christ we have become new creations, the old is gone and the new is come, but sadly we all discover that in our Christian pilgrimage, too often perhaps, something of the old nature reappears and we need to deal with it, for left unchecked it will hinder our progress. It is also possible that we can react wrongly when change happens, and by change I refer to necessary change, essential for progress, but we become stiff-necked about it, stubborn to the point that we become stagnant in our walk instead of progressing. In the account before us, their progress was hindered, the stubbornness needed to be dealt with and once dealt with, God promised he would be with them, his presence would travel with them. When change is necessary to implement the way for  progress, we need to learn to adapt and allow God to move us forward in his purpose knowing that his presence will be with us.

Referring back to my example from 2006, I am grateful that this verse was given to me, for of myself I would never have moved when we did from Sudbury to North Wales, and even though North Wales was far from a promised land, flowing with milk and honey,( maybe we have reached it here in the north east 😊) we knew God’s presence in so many different ways. God is faithful, when we learn to trust him, which involves yielding our stubborn will to him, we will yield knowing that he will be with us.

My stubborn will at last hath yielded;

I would be Thine, and Thine alone,

And this the prayer my lips are bringing,

Lord, let in me Thy will be done.

Sweet will of God, still fold me closer,

Till I am wholly lost in Thee;

Sweet will of God, still fold me closer,

Till I am wholly lost in Thee.

I’m tired of sin, footsore and weary,

The darksome path hath dreary grown,

But now a light has ris’n to cheer me;

I find in Thee my Star, my Sun.

Thy precious will, O conqu’ring Savior,

Doth now embrace and compass me;

All discords hushed, my peace a river,

My soul a prisoned bird set free.

Shut in with Thee, O Lord, forever,

My wayward feet no more to roam;

What pow’r from Thee my soul can sever?

The centre of God’s will my home.

* qšh – New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis Vol 3 Page 998 Willem A. VanGemeren. Paternoster Press

WEDNESDAY 23^rd

Exodus 27:20-21

NIV (vv20-21) – ‘Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.’

ESV (vv20-21) – ‘You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn.

In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.’

I have chosen not to include anything in these devotions on the subject of the plans, preparation, building and dedication of the tabernacle simply because it is a big subject on its own, but while looking through the chapters these two verses captured my attention, they speak of a constantly burning lamp.

Today with our instant use of electricity it is easy for us to have a light switched on permanently, once the lamp is fitted and the electricity supply is in place all we have to do is switch it on. But for the people of Israel, to keep a lamp permanently burning would have required constant attention, someone would have had to produce and provide the oil, it would have had to be continually topped up and then the wick would have to have been regularly trimmed and replaced.

It reminded me of the New Testament Scriptures that speak of light and lamps, the first being the moment when Jesus told his listeners that they were to be the light of the world in Matthew 5:14 and later in the same gospel, he talks about the need to have our lamps trimmed and burning in readiness for his coming again. (Matthew 25:1-13) There are some who when they come to faith, treat it like a quick fix, come to Jesus, be saved and everything is going to work out, you have a ticket for heaven. It is a little like us putting the light on today, flick a switch and that’s all there is to it. But, when it comes to genuine repentance and salvation, there is far more to it, it isn’t a quick fix, it is more like the verses for our text today, where although we are saved by grace we need to keep working out our salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12 ‘Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, . . .’)

We have to put effort into our ongoing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, for if we genuinely want to be his disciples today, it isn’t always easy being light in the darkness, it isn’t always easy to make sure that are lamps are trimmed and burning. So much can affect us in our daily routine, there are many things the devil will put in place to hinder us and attempt to snuff the light out, our peers (especially for the younger generation) will try to divert us and cause the lamp to flicker and burn out. Therefore, it behoves us to make sure we get a regular supply of fresh oil, that we constantly trim our wick and ensure that we burn as brightly as we can as lights in our generation.

In verse 20, the oil that they were to use is described as ‘pure beaten olive oil’ I see this as representing the holiness of God, as revealed firstly through the beaten and smitten holy Son at Calvary, the sinless one, who became sin on our behalf and secondly I see it as a picture of the Holy Spirit. We need first to accept the holy Son as our Lord and Saviour and then we need constantly to be being filled with the Holy Spirit, a replenishing oil supply, and as we do there is an ongoing work of sanctification that takes place which is trimming our wick and causing us to burn more brightly.

In verse 21 it says that the burning light will be a statute forever to be observed throughout the generations by the people of Israel. In the New Testament we read that we too, as burning lights need to be observed, look at what it says in

Matthew 5:16 ‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.’

TUESDAY 22^nd

Exodus 20:1-21

NIV (v1) ‘And God spoke all these words: . . .’

ESV (v1) ‘And God spoke all these words, saying, . . .’

We come to the chapter today in which God gives to the people what we call the ‘Ten Commandments’. It would be easy to look at one commandment a day over the next ten days, but that can be a subject for another occasion. The first thing the verses tell us that God said is, ‘I am the LORD your God, . . .’ and then follows the commands, the first, ‘You shall have no other gods before me’, followed by the command that ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, . . . you shall not bow before them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, . . .’ The next eight commands follow, followed by the verses that tell us that there was thunder and lightning and the sound of a trumpet and the mountain smoked, causing the people to be afraid and they trembled with fear and stood afar off. (vv18-19). Moses told the people not to fear (be afraid) of all that they were seeing and hearing, for God had come so that any fear they had would be the fear of God and that this fear may be before them that they may not sin.

What is the fear of God? It is not a fear that is like we may have of going to the dentist or something similar, but it is that which causes us to give God the due respect he deserves because of who he is. It is what causes us to come and to stand in awe of him, it is shown by our willing submission to him, the fear of God is linked to our willing obedience toward him and his will in our lives, and our humility toward him, it is our fear of God that drives us to want to live lives of purity and holiness, knowing that God abhors sin and will punish it. It is our fear of God that causes us to know what and who we are as we stand before him, a holy God.

It was only when the people of Israel came to fully recognise and understand who God was and to understand what it means to fear him that they could even begin to try and attempt to obey the commands. And although we have been saved by grace, the law, the commands are still both a spiritual and moral compass for us as we seek to navigate our lives in a fallen society. They have a spiritual application in that they cause us to come before the true and living God, knowing that of ourselves we are nothing, as the song says, simply to the Cross I cling, our hope is not in ourselves but in a holy God who made himself known at another mountain, not with tablets of stone but with a Saviour on a Cross and as we come to the Cross we stand back in awe, but then we fall in repentance, as we are coming to a holy God who has offered to make us holy by his blood. And after we have known his saving grace we seek to live with integrity and by his grace we seek to live according to his righteousness and with his rule in our lives, which means that his moral standards as we see in the commandments should also be the standard in our lives.

Our opening text was ‘And God spoke all these words, saying, . . .’ God had the right to speak and to administer his rule, and today he still speaks, he has spoken to us by or through his Son, but he still speaks through his written rule, the Word of God  and I will close this devotion with a few Scriptures.

Deuteronomy 10:12 – ‘And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, . . .’

Proverbs 9:10 – ‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.’

Ecclesiastes 12:13 – ‘The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.’

Daniel 6:26 – ‘I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.’

1 Peter 2:17 – ‘Honour everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the emperor.’

SATURDAY 12^th

Exodus 17:8-16

NIV (v12) –  ‘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.’

ESV (v12) – ‘But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.’

The narrative before us today, speaks to us of the power of intercession, in that Moses acted as an intercessor for the people of Israel while they were fighting against the Amalekites. He represented the people before God. He held his hands up high while holding the staff of God, and while he did the Israelites prevailed, but if he lowered his hands the Amalekites prevailed. Understandably Moses hands were going to get tired holding them up all the time and so the two men with him, Aaron his brother, and Hur helped by holding his weary hands up for him until the battle was won.

On his own, perhaps Moses would never have been able to continue, but with the help of others together they brought success.

Whatever lessons we could bring out of this, the one I want to bring is that of teamwork or working together. For what was taking place involved more than just the main man Moses, it involved Aaron, Hur, Joshua leading the army and those battling with him. They were all dependent upon one another, they all needed the support of each other for the task to be completed both on and off the battle field for the battle to be won.  Joshua and the army with him were dependent upon Moses holding up his hands, and Moses was dependent upon Aaron and Hur helping him when he grew weary.

Within the Church setting we need each other, we need the support of one another, and this can happen in different ways, but within the context of this story we can support each other by interceding or praying for one another. I as the pastor and the leadership team with me need your support, things do not just happen it requires prayer, planning, and careful consideration, and you praying for us is a means by which God by the Spirit can help us by bringing us the wisdom and revelation or knowhow in regards to moving the Church forward into the future that God has prepared for us. In particular at this difficult time with the ongoing situation with the pandemic, we as leaders need to know how to move forward with sensitivity and care, we want to act rightly and wisely and we need the whole Church to be continually holding us up in prayer, and we thank you that you have been and together we pray that we will win the present battle we are faced with and the future will be one of ongoing victory, for the battle belongs to the Lord.

This is the last devotion for a week as Elaine and I will be taking a few days holiday next week from Monday through till Friday, I will recommence the devotions on Sunday 20^th. Thank you as you have prayed for us especially over the last few weeks with our house move.  

FRIDAY 11^th

Exodus 14 & 15

NIV (15:6) ‘Your right hand, LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, LORD, shattered the enemy.’

ESV (15:6) ‘Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.’

We continue with what was yesterday’s theme summed up in the verse for today, everything that happened in chapter 14 was to bring glory to God (14:4,18).

In yesterday’s devotion, the people of Israel were in a state of DISTRESS as they saw the Egyptian army catching up with them, as far as they were concerned at that moment they would have been better off as they were back in Egypt, but God was about to DEMONSTRATE his glorious power once again.

Moses who was God’s man for the moment made this DECLARATION: ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you only have to be silent.’ A little extra thought here, the day is coming when we will never be bothered by the devil again, for firstly we will be safe in the eternal presence of God, but secondly because the day is coming when he is going to bound and thrown into the eternal lake of fire! (Revelation 20:12)

As the people stood at the edge of the river, the Egyptian army pounding fast and hard behind them, God gave the order through Moses ‘Go forward’, you can imagine the people thinking, ‘you’re having a laugh, most of us can’t even swim, what on earth are we going to do?’ But another command comes to Moses, ‘Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and DIVIDE it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on DRY ground.’ No need for the trunks and swimming costumes, no need to worry you can’t swim – how often do we come to problems or DIFFICULTIES and we think we can’t do this or we can’t do that – forgetting that the God of the impossible, the God of miracles is with us. The account continues that as Moses obeyed, God caused a strong east wind to blow all night and the sea was DIVIDED and the people of Israel walked through to the other side on DRY ground. Wow, what an amazing sight this must have been, but there was more! The Egyptian army thought that it would be okay for them to cross as well and they continued to pursue and God withdrew the east wind and the DIVIDED sea walls were DEMOLISHED and the whole of the army were DESTROYED.  The people of Israel alive, the Egyptians DEAD! And it says in verse 31, ‘The Israelites saw the great power (a DEMONSTRATION of great power) that the LORD used against the Egyptians . . .’ Truly the glory of the Lord was seen on that day.

We then get into chapter 15, the chapter before the Israelites were DISTRESSED and DISHEARTENED, but now in this chapter their hearts are full of DELIGHT, so much so that they begin to sing and DECLARE the glorious triumph that the Lord has had by throwing the horse and rider into the sea. Our text verse says that they sang ‘Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.’ (v6) And the celebration continued, for not only did they sing, and make music with tambourines, it says that they DANCED before the Lord. (v20)

What a story from DESPAIR to DANCING, and so is your story and mine, we were as the Psalmist puts it in Psalm 103:4 in a pit of despair, but as the Lord lifted the psalmist out of the pit, so also he has lifted us up from out of the pit, and as the psalmist also said, ‘He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.’ (Psalm 40:3) So also he has put a new song upon our lips, a song of rejoicing, a song of DELIVERANCE, a song of praise and we echo the words of the psalmist again, ‘You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever! Psalm 30:11-12

I do not know your circumstances today, but remember the Lord knows and whatever they are, look to him, allow his glory to be revealed, allow him to DIVIDE whatever the need may be and allow you to walk through to the other side and to DANCE in victory with the high praises of God in your mouth.

THURSDAY 10^th

Exodus 14 & 15

NIV (v4 & v 18) ‘And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD. So the Israelites did this. . . . ‘The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.’

ESV (v4 & v18) ‘And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD. And they did so. . . . And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.’

We will spend a couple of days in these two chapters, we see how God, after the people of Israel had started their Exodus from out of Egypt, causes events to happen to bring glory to himself. The Pharaoh needed to learn a lesson, he obviously thought he was in control, but after everything that had already happened he still hadn’t learned, so once again God hardened his heart so that he would pursue after the people of Israel, not realizing he and his army were running headlong into destruction.

As I read through these chapters, there were a few words that cropped up in my mind which I will build the couple of devotions around. (Beginning with the letter D)

The first is DELIVERANCE. The people of Israel had already seen the powerful hand of God at work in the DEMONSTRATION of his power through the plagues in Egypt and  as a result of the final plague that God wrought upon the Egyptians, the slaying of the firstborn, the Pharaoh agreed for Moses to take them out of Egypt and so the exodus began, as God delivered them from their bondage and slavery, but the joy they must have felt soon turned into DISTRESS, for as a result of God hardening the heart of Pharaoh he had a change of heart and regretted letting them go and was DETERMINED to go after them, but what was about to happen was to bring glory to God.

Thank God, that after we have come to the Cross, as a result of the sacrifice our Passover Lamb made on our behalf, and been DELIVERED from our sin and from the DOMAIN of Satan our hearts are full of joy, we DELIGHT in the ways, and the purpose and plan of God for our lives. Our whole future before us, new creations, being brought into the abundance of all that God through Christ has available for us, with our promised land ahead of us. But, while we are rejoicing in our great salvation, the enemy of our souls is growling through gritted teeth, because his kingdom has been plundered, he has lost and Christ has won, so he becomes DETERMINED to come after us. As we read in 1 Peter 5:8 ‘Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’ As the chasing Egyptian army caused DISTRESS in the hearts of the fleeing Israelites, so the devil would love to do all he can to bring distress into our hearts and lives, but we need to constantly remind ourselves that he is on a leash, he can only do what God allows him to do, and whatever happens in our lives we need to constantly remind ourselves, as the Israelites needed reminding, God is in control. He had just delivered them from out of Egypt, he was not going to allow anything, regardless of how big the Egyptian army was to prevent them from getting through to the other side of the sea. The same verses in 1 Peter continue with ‘Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the DOMINION forever and ever. Amen.’ (vv9-11) In the verses I highlighted at the beginning, it talks of God receiving the glory as a result of what was to happen in this chapter, the verses from Peters epistle, also remind us that in and through everything that happens to us, it is that God will receive the glory.

The devil might be growling, he may also start to gloat when he sees us beginning to feel DISTRESSED in the middle of DIFFICULT circumstances, but always remember, the One who DELIVERED us from out of the kingdom of darkness is also able to keep us from falling, and the devils grin will soon return back to a growl when he sees God getting the glory. Read also what it says in Peter’s epistle ‘Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

Here is a little reminder again. Romans 8:28 ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’

And Jude 1:24-25 ‘Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.’

WEDNESDAY 9^th

Exodus 12

NIV (v13) – ‘The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.’

ESV (v13) – ‘The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.’

It is not possible to go through the book of Exodus without looking at this chapter as it is one of the greatest pictures of what was at that time going to be a future event, when Christ our Passover Lamb would come.

Moses along with his side kick Aaron had gone to Pharaoh and made the demands upon him on God’s behalf that he was to let the people of Israel go. Pharaoh had been stubborn to start with and increasingly more stubborn as time progressed until in the end following the initial plagues that God brought upon the Egyptians there was to be one final plague that would be the worst of all, but out of this plague would come the deliverance of the people of God.  We read of it in verse 12, ‘On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.’ That night was going to be a devastating night for the Egyptians as God was going to kill all the firstborn of both man and beast. But at the same time God was going to provide the means of protection for the firstborn of the Israelites that would also lead to their redemption and deliverance from the land of Egypt, the ‘exodus’ of which this book is all about.

The means of their protection, redemption and deliverance was going to be the sacrifice of a lamb, and the application of the blood of the slain lamb upon the doorposts and lintels of the homes where they were staying. In the middle of verse 13 we have the well-known phrase which was also an important declaration from God, ‘When I see the blood, I will pass over you’. And just as the blood was going to be the means of salvation here in Exodus 12, it also pointed forward to the day when our Passover Lamb would be slain for the sins of the world. In John 1, John the Baptist made the declaration upon seeing Jesus, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ But to take away the sin, first the Lamb had to be slain and secondly his blood needed to be applied, and he was slain as recorded for us in the gospels, and his blood is applied when we come to him by faith in repentance, and accept him as our Saviour.

We thank God for our Passover Lamb, who willingly shed his life blood, by pouring out his soul unto death, (Isaiah 53:12) even death on a Cross, that we can be led out of the dark bondage and captivity of sin and be led forth into all that he has made available for us as the children of God, no longer slaves to Satan, but adopted into the family of God. ‘My shackles are gone, my spirit is free, oh praise the Lord he lives in me, my sins are forgiven, and now I am free, O praise the Lord my shackles are gone, my spirit is free’. ‘Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, redeemed by his infinite mercy, his child and forever I am, redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb’.

Let us rejoice today in the wonder of our eternal redemption, which has come about not by any of our own merit or works but as a result of our suffering Saviour, the people of God left their bondage and began the journey to the promised land, and because of our Passover Lamb we are on our way to a land that is fairer than day, to quote the words of another song, ‘The Lamb, the Lamb, the bleeding Lamb, I love the sound of  Jesus’ name, it sets my spirit all in a flame, glory to the bleeding Lamb. He bore my sins and curse and shame, glory to the bleeding Lamb, and I am saved through Jesus’ name, glory to the bleeding Lamb, I know my sins are all forgiven, glory to the bleeding Lamb, And I am on my way to heaven, Glory to the bleeding Lamb’.

TUESDAY 8^th

Exodus 4:1-17

NIV (v2) – ‘Then the LORD said to him, What is that in your hand? A staff, he replied.’

ESV (v2) – ‘The LORD said to him, What is that in your hand? He said, A staff.’

We return to Moses’ encounter with the I AM at the burning bush, and in this chapter, he is still making his excuses. Firstly, and understandably, he asks what is going to happen when he gets to Pharaoh and he (Pharaoh) doesn’t believe all that Moses is saying, God deals with this issue in verses 2-9, then secondly Moses brings up a personal problem that he himself was not very good at speaking ‘I am slow of speech and of tongue’. At this point God reminds Moses that he himself is the one who has made man’s mouth, assuring him that he would be with him and would teach him what he should speak. But Moses is still not happy and almost begs God to give the task to someone else. At this point we read that God begins to get angry with Moses, (v14) and it leads to God appointing Moses’ brother Aaron to go on the task with Moses to be his mouthpiece.

When it comes to living for God and in serving him, I guess we have all been a little like Moses, when we have been asked to do something, or go somewhere we have found it easier to make up all the excuses we can rather than to go and do. But this account reminds us that whenever God calls, he will always equip, he will never call us to do something or go somewhere without that he will be with us and will provide for us. When it comes to the equipping, we may already have the skills and tools required, the phrase in our text, is ‘what is that in your hand’, Moses already had the staff, and it was going to become a tool that God would use in his hands as he acted in obedience and went. Up until that point, his staff had been an essential tool in his work as a shepherd with the sheep on the mountain, but now it was going to become an equipping tool as he takes up the responsibility of shepherding the people of Israel from out of Egypt and on their ongoing journey to the promised land. It may be that it is after we have taken the step of obedience that God will provide, what we need to learn to do is trust him, believe that if he has called he will not let us down. I remember when we were called by the Church to go from Suffolk to serve in North Wales, it was a big step for us and although I had already had my own inner conviction about the move prior to our being asked, and I had shared it with Elaine,  I still questioned it when the call came, and around the same time someone not knowing about the situation, gave me a personal word of Scripture which was from Exodus 33:14 ‘And he said, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ This was an amazing confirmation to me, and a reminder at the time that when God has called, he will not only equip and provide but he will be alongside as the ever-present guide. Interestingly as we continue the story of Moses, he still made excuses (see verse 30 of the same chapter) and God speaks to reassure him again in the following chapter, till eventually verse 6 shows us they went and did just as the Lord had commanded them. And the rest is history, but we will turn to it again tomorrow.