: Of the three 40-year periods into which Moses’ life can be divided, we have the least amount of information on the center period of time. However, we know that the man who went to Midian was not the same man who emerged 40 years later. The wilderness is a place where God desires to shape us. All too often, we run away from the wilderness and miss the formational work of Jesus in our lives.

Through a series of acts of civil disobedience, the line of Israel is sustained and a deliverer is born. In a season when our rights, or the violation of those rights, are a central conversation, the opening sequence of Exodus reminds us of when we are called to disobey the authorities so that we might obey God. While these times are more seldom than one might think, they are powerful examples of courage as God's plan unfolds.

The book of Exodus is a powerful foretelling of the work of salvation and restoration that God has done through Jesus. From a macro perspective, Exodus is one part in the five-volume epic that begins the Hebrew Bible. From the micro perspective, slavery in Egypt is a type for bondage of sin. Only when we see our helplessness and God's covenant love are we able to truly see the power of God's deliverance.

If we're honest, there are many times when community just isn't convenient, enjoyable or even desirable. However, our call to be an apprentice is to follow the model of Jesus and set aside our own preferences in order to love those in our community. By committing to journey with one another in a way that prioritizes the lives of others above our own, we model Jesus to one another and to a watching world.

God exists eternally in relationship and has invited us into that relationship. This means that we must learn to live authentically with one another, being loved just as we are. We receive and model the love of God as a steady flow to those around us. Like God Himself, we live lives that invite others to experience the love and grace of Jesus.

The predominate New Testament metaphor for the community of Jesus is that of family. This is rooted in Jesus' teaching and modeled throughout the history of the early church. The community of Jesus is called to be a counter-cultural expression of strong bonds developed with one another. We are saved not just into forgiveness and eternity—we are saved into a family.

Honor is a concept that is foreign to many of us as Westerners. We live in a culture of sarcasm, shaming, entitlement and disregard--a culture of contempt. However, the way of Jesus is honoring one another, even above ourselves. When we take this call seriously, we enter into a life-bringing and life-changing practice for our community and for the world around us.

Community was an intentional practice of Jesus that formed Him and those around Him. His community was diverse, committed to one another, and far from idealistic. Jesus' model was that of a servant, willingly setting aside His own rights to care for those around Him. This call is central to what it means to be an apprentice of Jesus and is powerfully formational for us as we follow after Him.

When we recognize the sovereign power of God, we can truly enter into the rest to which we are called. The invitation of Jesus is into a present and future rest that allows us to fully live into the Kingdom of God. When our culture directs us and we work for blessing, our souls are crushed. When Jesus blesses us, our souls are restored.

Justice is a vital and important topic in our world. However, too often the terms of justice are defined through worldly ideologies instead of Kingdom opportunities. As we engage the personal Gospel of Jesus, we are also called to embrace the cultural and social implications of that gospel for ourselves and for the church. Jesus modeled setting aside His ultimate privilege for our sake, and He calls us to do the same for those around us.