The Reading Plan Daily Devotions

Everyone has certain patterns by which they operate. “He always does this,” someone might say of you. “I think she’ll respond this way, for that’s what she normally does,” you might say of a friend. There is something extraordinary when you come to understand the ways of your friend. Especially in a marriage, it is easier to be a completer and helper to your mate if you grasp how they will respond. It is easier to cooperate with them. And, on the receiving end, it is wonderful to be known in such depth. GOD’S WAYS We are created in God’s image, and the fact that we have patterns is a residual effect of how we were created. Sin has damaged this, of course, but just as we have our ways, so does God. Knowing God’s ways is highly important in understanding and following Him. Moses grasped this and prayed a prayer that we should be praying. “Now, therefore, I pray, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight.” (Exod

When God has a work to do, He prepares the necessary men and women. When He planned to build the tabernacle in the wilderness—a place which had never been built with such beauty—He prepared skillful men to do the task on a level that could not have happened otherwise. Notice the words He used to describe what He placed inside a group of workers in  Exodus 31:  "See I have CALLED by name Bezalel” (verse 2) “I have FILLED him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship” (verse 3) “And behold, I Myself have APPOINTED with him Oholiah” (verse 6) “and in the hearts of all who are skillful, I have PUT skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you.” (verse 7) Of course, to utilize this gifting you must cooperate with him. You must not fear but move forward in faith believing that you will have what is needed at the appointed time. And, you must not respond in rebellion, insisting that this is not the work you want to do. Why wou

One of the great mysteries of God is that He meets with us. This has happened since the beginning of time as God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day in the Garden He had created for them. Until they chose to go their own way, they enjoyed unhindered, intimate communion with Him. THROUGHOUT HISTORY Fast forward to Moses as he led God’s people out of Egypt into the Promised Land. God designed a place where He would communicate with His people, a “tent of meeting.” Exodus 29 42 “It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. 43 “I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory. 44 “I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me. 45 “I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. 46 “They shall know that I am the Lord their God who

“You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman … and (you) shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies.” (Exodus 26:31-33) Everything with God has a purpose. We see this dimly now. One of the joys of heaven will be the revelation of the intricacies of all God did and why He did it. We will be stunned at His precision. THE TABERNACLE   … that God instructed Moses to construct as they traveled to the Promised Land was a portable picture of what the temple would one day be in Jerusalem. God gives Moses precise instructions in its building, for each piece represented something. The final section of this tabernacle would house one thing: the ark of the covenant, which was covered by the mercy seat. No one could enter this place but the High Priest who would come and make interce

Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day, He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24:15-18) The word "glory" is a word given to us to describe the nature and character, the immanence of God. Some word had to be coined for this purpose.  God was calling Moses up Mount Sinai for one of the most important encounters in human history: the giving of the Law. This called for a unique encounter with God's chosen leader, Moses, and so God came down and manifested Himself in an unusual way. This verified, once again, to Moses that it was God who was giving these instructions for Hi

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2) Every house must have a foundation. Without a solid footing, the house may look good for a while externally but will have a structural failure when bad weather comes. A solid foundation is the key to a building that will last. What is true of a building is also true of a life and a people. I AM   As God began to build His nation of Israel, He starts with the reminder that He IS. He is what? He is life, breath, meaning, purpose. He is the provider and protector. He is the leader. Add any good and essential thing into that sentence, and you will discover that our lives are to rest upon the only foundation which is sufficient.    After this initial statement, God gives the people (through Moses) a list of ten primary commandments they are to observe. If they do, it will lead to a healthy, holy unified nation and a prosperous life. But each of these commandments finds its genesis

"The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness." (Exodus 16:7) We are world-class at some things, and grumbling is right up there at the top of the list. But we're not the first, by a long shot. The word means to "murmur." It's the low growl of discontent. THE TARGET Grumbling can be just a general murmur of anger or discontent, but usually, it's aimed at someone. For the Israelites, their target of choice was their leaders. They didn't have what they wanted when they wanted it, so they blamed the leaders. They looked back at what they had in the past in Egypt and compared. In their "new" grumbling, they said they wanted what they had grumbled about when they were slaves in Egypt! No matter the situation, it seems we can always find something about which to complain. Remarkably, they focused this rancor on Moses and Aaron, who were their heroes just a few days before. Grumbling knows no boun