February 7th: Exodus 15, Psalm 69 and Mark 3

Exodus 15.  I wonder if this is the first time people sang songs of praise to God?

Also, I feel bad for the Egyptians that died in the Red Sea.  Sure some were bad... but probably not all of them.  

Sorry this is short. I'm a little tired.  Sorry.

February 6th: Exodus 13-14, Psalm 68 and Mark 2

Three things:

Imagine getting used to a massive cloud or a pillar of fire that went ahead of you and showed you where to go.  Those crazy Israelites, how silly are they?  Now imagine, getting used to having the body of Christ always around you or a leather bound edition filled with God's Words... oh... wait...

Psalm 68:21.  Funny phrasing:  "But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways."  ... Hairy Crown?  Really?  

In Mark 2, Jesus is accused of hanging out with the "sinners and tax collectors."  Apparently back in the original '30s that was social suicide. Similar to admitting a love for the band Creed. Horrible bands aside, Jesus was revolutionary in his love.  He went outside the norms, outside the standards. He loved the overlooked.  He loved the people that needed it the most.  People shunned by the church.  I wonder who those people are for me.

February 5th: Exodus 11-12, Psalm 66-67 and Mark 1

The passover is recorded in Exodus 11 and 12.  

This is a major event.  Huge.  Like create-a-week-long-festival-to-remember-it-huge.

They forgot the God of the passover only a little while later in the story.  Their situation got desperate (in their eyes) and they forgot who God was and what he was capable of. 

I wonder how often God provides and we forget only a little while later when things get crappy (in our eyes).

I wonder if I should enact a festival when God provides.  Think that would help me remember?

February 4th: Exodus 10, Psalm 64-65 and Romans 15-16

When it comes to this story in Exodus, in every chapter, I feel like I could say, "I never thought of that before."

Today, I'm amazed by the pattern that Pharaoh follows. Imagine, that you have a sin in your life that you repeat. Maybe, it's telling lies, murder,or not letting God's people leave your country... take a look at Pharaoh, nine times, he commits the same sin. He wars against God for like three chapters and yet he is spared over and over. Sure, there are consequences. But never, does he take the express elevator to Hades.

Something else I noticed in the beginning of chapter 10 of Exodus. There is a huge emphasis put on generations. What took place was to be enshrined in history. They were to tell the story of God's power with movies, wax museums and Bible themed t-shirts. Seriously though, this display was specifically designed to help the Jews while they were in the desert. Cool. Too bad they forgot.

February 3rd: Exodus 9, Psalm 62-63 and Romans 13-14

I don't know why I never thought of this. But there is grace in the plagues. God could have killed all of Egypt. He could have just wiped them all out. He could have killed every single person in Egypt. For God, killing is just as easy as creating boils, locusts, or hail. But God had another plan. A plan to protect Israel and preserve the Egyptians. When the ancestors of Jacob eventually leave Egypt, this reputation about their God goes ahead of them. Potential enemies leave them alone not because of their military abilities, but because the name of Jehovah demands respect. Pretty cool.

I wonder about the correlation between the story of the plagues and the stuff in Romans 13 about submission to authority. The Israelites never rebel against Egypt. They never form a militia and start fighting. They submit. They make bricks and God takes care of them. Seems like Christians these days need to take a little lesson out of the that. Too often we fight when we should probably just make bricks.

I have no idea what "bricks" are in this illustration.

February 2nd: Exodus 7-8, Psalm 60-61 and Romans 12

Never thought of this before... the magicians in Exodus repeat the miracles that God is doing through Moses and Aaron. Is God doing the miracles through the magicians as well? Or is it Satan giving the magicians the power? God said that HE would harden Pharaoh's heart, that it was a part of His will. Is this the way that He does it? I can imagine I would think Mo and Aaron were a bit nuts too if my boys could get the job done too.

The implications for now are a little nuts. Does God allow things to happen to mislead us? I'm not saying he causes bad things... but does He give power to opposing forces in order to accomplish His will?

February 1st: Exodus 5-6, Psalm 58-59 and Romans 10-11

Made it through a month. Way to be almost-30-me...

Moses cracks me up. He's like the old guy at the church that starts to tell you a story then stops in the middle to show you pictures of his grandkids. Take a look at Exodus. He's laying out one of the coolest stories in the Bible (pretty tragic too) and right there in the middle, a genealogy. Seriously, Mo?

Bible-college-me knows that some of these names are going to creep back into the story. But why throw out this list right here?

Any help?

(By the way... big shout out to the Steelers.)