Hebrews 4:12-13 (ESV)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Explanation:

The original Greek word translated here as “living” means to have life or to be alive. Our God is a living God. Jesus did not remain dead in that tomb! Jesus is alive right now, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for you and me. So also the word of God is living and active right now. The Bible is as relevant to us today as it was in the past and will be in the future.

The term “active” means effective, powerful, producing or capable of producing an intended result. The word of God is vibrant, dynamic, energizing, and productive. It is not static or idle in the lives of individual genuine believers. The apostle Paul explained that the word of God is “at work in you who believe” (I Thessalonians 2:13).

In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus compared God's word to seed. Seed, like God’s word, is a living organism. When seeds are planted in fertile soil and cared for properly, they produce abundant life. All true believers must let God's message take deep root and have complete control of their lives.

When I was in summer Bible school as a child, I remember reciting a pledge to the Bible. It went something like this: I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Its words will I hide in my heart that I may not sin against God (Psalm 119:105-112). What we read in God's word is living and active. It is not something we should read passively, and then forget about what it says. We must let God's message do its work deep inside of us as it changes our character and behavior, and spreads a message of God's love to all the world.

Application:

1. Do you pay close attention to ALL the living and active instructions written in God's word?

If you don't do this, then you may be trying to avoid changing what it wrong in your life.

2. God wants to help you change so you will be living your life in a way that will be pleasing to Him.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to pay close attention to what Your word, an active and living document, is saying to me. Show me where I need to change what I am doing. I do not want to sin against You, God. I want my life to reflect Your love to others. I thank You in advance for what You are going to do in me and through me. Amen.

1 Corinthians 2:6-13 (The Message)

We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text:

No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,

Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—

What God has arranged for those who love him.

But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.

The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.

Explanation:

Longing for God’s purposes is the secret to life.

It will spur your growth, and keep you close to God’s heart.

It will also keep you fresh.

To be an attractional Christian…you must stay fresh.

Stale isn’t a good thing. Embarrassingly enough, I found that even pop expires, when I offered one to a guest. Stale in the food realm means the basic elements are still there, but the crunch is wimpy or the taste is off. Something the food needed went missing. and it could not be the spice, chip or cracker it once was. On a rudimentary level, our spiritual life is the same.

When we begin to live on last year's Bible study or last month's prayer, we are technically saved and chronically musty. You know that “old” stench. Instead of a sweet aroma of “having been with Jesus,” we stand smelly in dutiful religion. We’ve all sniffed a few in our time, and others have gotten a whiff of our apathy.

Paul says:

No one’s ever seen,

or heard

anything like this,

Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—

What God has arranged for those who love him…

He is pinpointing:

✔️ Because the eye is immobilized

✔️ Because the ear is incapacitated

The heart is unenlightened.

Paul has a passion for people to live in all God has planned for them. He wants us to comprehend the incompleteness of our viewpoint, and why we need the Holy Spirit's help.

Some will settle for the basic salvation plan like a millionaire who settles for the cheapest cruise cabin in the hull of the ship. Others want everything God offers which would be like an Ocean View Balcony Suite with 4,443 square feet, a private chef, pool, sauna, and dining room. At $11,000 a night, you can bet the customer in that suite is having a completely different cruise experience than the one in the hull, even though they are on the same trip.

We can see God's divine fingerprints everywhere in creation, but we can never know His mind, His heart, and His will without the Holy Spirit.

“The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along.”

The Holy Spirit wants to amaze you.

He wants to astound you with God’s goodness.

Application:

1. As humans, we over complicate things. Paul simplified it for us. What is the one thing God looks for when He prepares great things for His children? ¬¬¬¬

2. Poor God. Why is

Deuteronomy 1:23-33 (NLT)

“This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes. They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it. They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the LORD our God has given us is indeed a good land.’

“But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in. You complained in your tents and said, ‘The LORD must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’

“But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you saw how the LORD your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’

“But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God, who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

Explanation:

God opened the door last November for my husband and me to relocate to the Hilton Head, South Carolina area. We had been praying for two years that He would help us get closer to where my parents live (now ONLY about 2 hours north of us), and plant us in a community where we can serve Him and be a light to others. This passage reminds me so much of our own journey and how we reacted when God said “GO!”

During the two year “waiting period,” we witnessed God working through us in Lancaster. There was a definite reason why we were there. Just like the Scripture said, “the Lord your God cared for you all the way, just as a father cares for his child.” We thought we were ready two years ago, but God wasn’t. There was still work to be done. We had moments when we didn’t understand the giants we were facing, and why God was making us wait.

Once God said “GO!” things happened very quickly. We found a house, sold our house, and relocated in a period of about 45 days. It was an answer to our prayer, but a very scary one. We were going from a place of familiarity, where I could comfortably say I knew about 50% of the population, to a place where we knew no one. We leaned on God to lead us to a church where we could be fed spiritually, serve, and grow, while still engaging online with The Tree and Pastor Matthew’s teaching.

We were here exactly two weeks before I was asked to be part of the Greeter team, and Kyle was asked to be the leader of the Security and Parking teams. Three weeks later, the Associate Pastor and Outreach Director asked us to meet with them. The church is planning to plant at least four campuses by the end of 2025, and we have been asked to help them with the startup of the first one. The following week, I was asked to lead the development of the Social Media content for the Women’s Ministry. When God said “GO!” He said it loudly!

We’re doing lots of things we’ve never done before, and the giants sometimes seem overpowering to us. We lean on this passage often, being reminded that “The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you.” My God is the same God who went before the people as they traveled through the wilderness. He’s the same God who loves me and cares for me like my earthly father does. I choose to trust that He is leading the way, going before me, and already knows the things unknown to us.

Application:

1. Do you have a journey that you can remember, where you fully relied on God to go before?

2. When we go through uncertain times, our human nature can cause doubt to creep in. How do you remind yoursel

Exodus 14:10-14 (ESV)

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he 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 have only to be silent.”

Explanation:

In this chapter in Exodus, Moses leads the people of Israel from Egypt on the path provided by God. Pharaoh and his army of men followed, which makes them question why they left Egypt. They were scared and in a vulnerable position in the wilderness. But God had led them to where He knew Pharaoh and his men would be defeated. The people of Israel lacked confidence to trust in God’s plan, and were frustrated they left Egypt. Moses reminds them that God never abandons us. He is our faithful protector! Even when we don’t ask for help, God is fighting our battles.

A few years ago, I went to a local metro park with a friend. We occasionally like to take long walks together in the spring or fall to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine and cool breezes. We set off on a trail that was relatively new to both of us. The path was wide and freshly groomed. There wasn’t a worry about the direction of the path or where it was leading us. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so the conversations were long and plentiful. Suddenly, it seemed that sunset came in an instant. We hadn’t noticed the trail had become much narrower and unmarked. No cell phone, no GPS, no flashlight. We were afraid. We were lost in the wilderness.

Much like the Israelites, we felt alone in the world. If only we had stayed at the entrance of the trail, our fears would have been avoided. Yet, the path before us was so beautiful and full of life. This path was meant to be traveled. Before we realized the time, we met the end of the trail at a small pond. The path led us right where we needed to be to see the last of the sun’s rays kiss the water.

We had trusted the path to this point. Why, then, did we feel so afraid?

This is why we must remember God’s promise to never leave us stranded, alone, or forgotten. We may feel surrounded by fear, but we are actually surrounded by the loving arms of our Father.

Application:

1. When was the time you felt most afraid? Did you pray about your fears? Did you feel abandoned by God?

2. How do you see the Lord working in your life?

3. Seek wisdom from God to provide a path from any battles you are fighting. He is fighting them, too!

Prayer:

Dear God, we pray to feel Your presence in our lives. At times, we lose sight of the direction You have provided and become lost. Help us to avoid a feeling of isolation, and provide us comfort in Your salvation. Surround us with Your loving arms as we embark on the path that leads to You. Amen.

Exodus 13:17-22 (ESV)

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Explanation:

Have you ever been so close to someone that you feel they know you better than you know yourself? There are some clear indictors in our reading today that tell us that God knew His people better than they knew themselves. He knew their capabilities, their hearts, and what would be best for them. After freeing them from slavery in Egypt, God starts the process of leading His people to their next destination in life. With a protective Fatherly approach, He strategically leads them from one place to the next. I am sure at times the places made complete sense in the Israelites’ minds, and there were also times when I am sure they were very confused. We see this later when they do finally reach the Red Sea, and it looks as if there is no place else to go, that God has led them to their doom. However, He does a miracle and continues to lead them on their journey.

Ok, let me ask you a tough question…one I truly want you to wrestle with. Do you think God knows you better than you know yourself? If your answer is yes, which I assume is the case, with God being our very Creator, how would that impact your level of trust with Him? Say you are single, and He is leading you out of a broken relationship, a relationship that does not help you grow in Christ. Do you follow His lead and step away from that relationship? Say you are a married man, with too many hobbies to count. You know that hobbies in themselves are not bad, but your hobbies just so happen to be pulling you away from home. Away from quality time with your wife and kiddos. What if God says to give up those hobbies? Do you follow His lead? I could provide so many more examples, but I do not doubt that the Holy Spirit can and will speak directly to your situation, revealing to you the ways that God is leading you. Will you trust His leading? Will you follow Him where He is calling you, even if it does not make sense?

Application:

1. Describe a time that you have followed the leading of God. How did that experience go for you?

2. What can hinder you from following the leading of God (Holy Spirit)?

3.What can create an insecurity in you that keeps you from following Him, trusting Him?

4. What can help you overcome those insecurities, lack of trust, and the things that hinder you?

Prayer:

God, following You is no easy task for us. There are many things that wage war against our trust in You. We struggle to fully comprehend the destinations You are calling us to. We plead that You fill us with Your Holy Spirit so we can have a supernatural faith. One that says even when it does not seem clear, we love Your leading.

Exodus 33:12-16 (ESV)

Moses said to the LORD, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

Explanation:

Moses knows that he’s been called to take his people to the Promised Land, but he also knows that there’s more to the journey than just getting there. Imagine that you have been chosen to lead a huge group of people to a place that you’ve never been before. You have no GPS, cell phone, maps, or technology to lead the way. The people are looking to you to get them there, and you’ve heard enough cries of “Are we there yet?” and “How much further?” to send you over the edge.

That’s where we find Moses. He is complaining to God that he’s trying to lead with incomplete information. Moses is asking God for more than just His provision. He wants God’s Presence. He boldly says to God, “If YOU aren’t going, WE aren’t going.” Without God along for the journey to their destination, the Promised Land meant nothing. God promised Moses that His presence, what we know as the Holy Spirit, was going to go beside them and give them rest.

Let’s reflect for a moment: how many times do we try to get to the destination, but forget to ask God to lead the way? We often turn to society for remedies when we get lost, forgetting that they offer nothing of value. Our only hope for the journey is to place our trust and faith in the Creator of the universe, and Master of the destination.

Application:

1. If you were given everything you ever wanted except the presence of God, would you take the deal?

2. How can you adjust your priorities to make sure that you place your journey in His hands instead of trying to take it on yourself?

Prayer:

Lord, I am so thankful and humbled that You have given us Your presence. I know that I have failed so many times when I am on a journey, forgetting that You are the only One that can help me get to the destination. Remind me that regardless of the battle, You are here. Remind me to look to You FIRST, and not after the struggle begins. Give me strength for the journey that lies ahead, knowing that You will give me Your provision and Your presence. Thank You for the many blessings that You’ve given me, and continue to use me to do Your work. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Acts 4:23-31 (ESV)

When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Explanation:

The Jesus followers were praying with boldness for God to protect them so they could continue the work of proclaiming and teaching the resurrection of Jesus. They had been warned that this went against the laws of the Sanhedrin and would face persecution. John and Peter trusted that praying for God to intercede in His own plan was the only way. Jesus had modeled this for them when He prayed before being arrested. He already knew what God’s will was but asked anyway. Why ask for something if you already know the plan He has? It prepares your heart to encounter the Holy Spirit in a specific and powerful way. Asking for God to prepare you for His will to be done is an act of submission. You are speaking into words that you are ready to do His work.

When we approach God to intercede in our lives on His behalf, the Holy Spirit honors that and will make Himself evident. We must ask and seek Him in our lives, praying boldly and confidently that God’s will be done in all the works He has brought you to do. It can be hard to ask for God to intercede in your situation if it is already hard, and you don’t know if it will get harder. John and Peter were fearing for their lives. They knew they would be persecuted if they continued to preach about Jesus. But this didn’t stop them from boldly praying, asking for God to allow them to continue the work of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit came, and not only were they able to continue, it says they were able to “speak the word of God with boldness” (verse 31).

The beautiful thing to remember is that we don’t have to pray an elaborate prayer. My husband and I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit that we hadn’t expected when we were walking through the traumatic experience of losing our daughter. We were being asked to do things that we had no clue about, and of course had never experienced that type of spiritual and emotional hurt before. We were sitting in our car outside the funeral home and were not emotionally prepared for what we knew had to happen. We had to walk in those doors, look at our child in a casket and receive people coming to pay their respects. We held hands, closed our eyes, and said, “Give us the strength to get through this day.” What happened next can only be explained as the Holy Spirit filling us. We stood for hours hugging family and friends. There were so many tears, but they were not our own. We found that we were actually comforting many instead of them comforting us. Many told us that there was something different about the room when they came in, and they couldn’t explain it. We knew it was the Holy Spirit, and told them it was God’s strength holding us up. The Holy Spirit filled us in a way to pro

Joel 2:28-29 (NLT)

“Then, after doing all those things,

I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your old men will dream dreams,

and your young men will see visions.

In those days I will pour out my Spirit

even on servants—men and women alike.

Explanation:

God is a God of intimate fellowship.

His desire is to:

✔️ Be with us

✔️ In is

✔️ Upon us

He accomplishes this through the Holy Spirit.

Today's scripture was referenced by Peter in his sermon at Pentecost. It gives me goosebumps because Joel prophesied it and Peter experienced it. What is even more exciting? You can too.

Joel declares a transethnic, multigenerational, gender-inclusive, supernatural experience. Breaking all cultural exclusivity, gender bias, and age restriction, Joel’s prophecy points God’s people to the larger purpose the Holy Spirit has, of reaching the world around us through all who will be available to the work of His Spirit.

Not one left out demographic…

Not one overlooked recipient…

Not one exception…

No racism.

No sexism.

No ageism.

It is so inclusive that the lowest segment of society within Joel’s knowledge is included: a servant.

The result of this will be the salvation of all those who will call upon the name of the Lord (Joel 2:32) as they witness God’s Spirit at work in His people.

What rain is to a drought, the Holy Spirit is to robotic Christianity.

When the Holy Spirit is poured out upon people, stale routine is replaced with vitality; shoulds are replaced with want; lethargy is replaced with power; and image is replaced with God's character inside our skin.

YOU are who God wants to pour His Spirit out on.

He wants to drench you in potential!

His Spirit will guide you, release you, incentivize you, encourage you, grow you, and use you.

The Sunday Matthew preached the first sermon in the “He” series, I was late leaving the building after first service. When I came out of the building, I could hear the music of the second service starting as several people were still coming from their cars. The parking lot was filled out to the grass. I became very emotional at the sight of how many people had come. As I observed, I said, “Lord, people are hungry for You. They are craving You. We simply offer God; they come.”

What we have to offer Fairfield County is being people who have accepted the pouring out of God’s Spirit.

We must. Souls are at stake.

Our county is full of brokenness that only God can heal. We must accept His power and flow in His plan to reach Fairfield County with the message of salvation.

Application:

1. If availability is all God asks …

2. If you are longing to fall in love with Jesus all over again, ask for the Holy Spirit’s outpouring. First love can be found and maintained.

Prayer:

Jesus… You are the One who sent the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon me.

I want everything the Holy Spirit offers me.

I accept Him as:

My Helper

My Teacher

My Convictor

My Wisdom

My Power

My Guide

My Intercessor

My Sanctifier

I accept. I say yes. Amen.

Exodus 19:16-19 (ESV)

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.

Explanation:

I have never been on a blind date. Never felt the nervous anticipation of meeting someone I have only heard about through mutual friends. Never had that excitement of realizing they were all I had hoped for, or the disappointment of them being a real flop… or worse, being a flop to the other person! They say first impressions are everything for blind dates.

In today’s passage, we get a glimpse into Israel’s blind date with God. The Hebrew slaves had heard of the God of Abraham, and they had heard Moses talk of the God who wanted to rescue and free them. They had seen God work through Moses to bring about the plagues, but now the day had come that they were meeting the God who had rescued them. God came out to meet them in a demonstration of His power and glory, but it unnerved the people of Israel. Moses would go on to say that after this encounter, the people asked for God to only speak directly to Moses from then on. What a shame! The people missed that what was wrapped in all that smoke, cloud, fire, and thunder was God’s love, protection, provision, and His desire to be present with His people.

Which brings me to my point: God’s presence was not what the people expected, and they recoiled. The Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives can sometimes not be what we expect. His presence isn’t solely to give us good feelings and a peaceful existence. Sometimes He shows up in conviction. Sometimes He shows up in discipline. Sometimes He shows up and turns life on its head. Those can all be scary things. But let us not miss that in the midst of clouds of fear, the rumble of correction, and the lightning of discipline, the heart of it all is love and His desire to be with you.

Application:

1. Have you interpreted a correction or challenge by God through a lens of fear and distrust?

2. Take some time to imagine what God is bringing to you that you didn’t expect is wrapped in His love and meant to bring you into more life.

Prayer:

God, I am often overwhelmed at times by Your presence in my life. The things You do in me and are asking me to do are sometimes terrifying. As You challenge me, Holy Spirit, help me to trust that the things that are terrifying and overwhelming to me are within Your power and Your ability to handle. And most of all, help me to trust that wherever You lead, whatever You do in my life is always wrapped in love and for my good. Amen.

Exodus 14:21-31 (NRSV)

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Explanation:

Imagine this scenario with me. You are an Israelite. You have been in slavery your whole life. Through an act of God, Pharaoh has decided to let you go and no longer be bound as a slave. Then out of the blue, he changes his mind, and the Egyptian army is coming after you. You thought this was the moment God’s people would finally find the freedom promised for all these years, and yet there is a big problem standing in your way. In the front of you is a large sea, and coming behind you is an army prepared to do anything possible to capture and/or kill you. Yet again, God does the impossible. He parts the sea, allowing your people to walk across on dry land. Afterwards He releases the sea, and it kills every single Egyptian solider. You are finally free. Your old life is gone and now you are new. What an incredible moment and story.

This was the moment that changed everything for the children of Israel. It is also a great reminder to us of how we too have been set free. We used to be trapped and slaves to sin, but now we are free. Not only are we free but we have the same power inside us that parted the physical waters for Israel. You are made new in Christ, and now the Holy Spirit dwells inside you. The Spirit wants to part the waters in our lives, to lead us, guide us, and make us holy.

Application:

1. I encourage you to write your own notes on the passage you read today. How did this story impact you? What thoughts came to mind as you read this passage?

2. Make a list of the ways you have been made new.

3. There is a song that goes so well with today’s passage and message. I encourage you to listen to it and allow the words to speak to you and remind you of all God has done in your life. The song is “Egypt” by Cory Asbury.

Prayer:

God, thank You for stories like the one we read today that remind us of Your faithfulness all throughout history. You have always had a plan of redemption for Your people, one where You promised to be present with us. Thank You for the gift of new life that we find through Jesus. Thank You that you part the waters in our lives to make us new, whole, and full of life. Amen!