If my obedience counts to God, then it must also count to me. Living as a believer means keeping God's commands, which means we walk as Jesus walked.

Sin isn't just a mistake or an error in judgment; it is saying, "No," to God. And as we learn from the example of Lot's wife, disobedience can only lead to death; obedience to God, on the other hand, brings life.

Just like the Israelites discovered in the wilderness, we are far more sinful than we ever dared to realize. But in Christ, we are more loved than we ever dared to imagine.

As we look at the instructions God gave to construct the Tabernacle, we see that God was communicating several things about Himself. Not only that, but in Jesus, we see the fullness of what God revealed in the Tabernacle – and what that means for us today.

When we look at the story of the Exodus and the Passover, we see Israel being covered by the blood of a lamb so that they could be freed from slavery in Egypt. But we also see Jesus in the story. His blood has covered us so that we could be freed from slavery in sin. We are free because of the Passover Lamb.

What we see in the story of Abraham and Isaac is that God is our Provider. And through this story, we can look forward and see that God provides everything we need in Jesus.

The story of Noah doesn't point backward, it points forward. We see Noah's faith looking ahead to what is to come – the new creation that Jesus will bring with Him when He returns.

The story of Cain shows us that sin must be dealt with and God's justice must be satisfied. But it also teaches us that we, like Cain, are guilty before God and cannot save ourselves. We need grace, and that's exactly what God provided in Jesus' sacrifice.

Sin isn't simply a mistake or a lapse in judgment; sin offends God. We can't run from it, we can't cover it up, and dig ourselves out of the whole we've made. But God, in His grace, has provided a way.

In the life of a Christian, there is only progress and regress; there is no standing still. And if we want to mature spiritually, we will have to combat spiritual laziness.