SUNDAY, MAY 1
READ EXODUS 3:16-18
EXODUS 3:16-17 “Now be on your way. Gather the leaders of Israel. Tell them, ‘God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I’ve looked into what’s being done to you in Egypt, and I’ve determined to get you out of the affliction of Egypt and take you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, a land brimming over with milk and honey.”’
18 “Believe me, they will listen to you. Then you and the leaders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt and say to him: ‘God, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness where we will worship God—our God.’
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Here Exodus records God’s call and promise to Moses and the leaders of Israel, the call to leave Egypt and the promise to lead Israel to a better land, in God’s own way. The call comes out of God’s love and compassion. God’s loving providence will always move us, whether by inner promptings or external events, to change, to grow.
“I have decided that I will bring them out of Egypt” (GNT). Egypt was at one time the salvation of the Hebrews. God’s people were called to Egypt, the land where Joseph served with authority, to be saved from famine. But now, a new king has arisen over Egypt “who [does] not know Joseph” (Exod. 1:8). The Hebrews have grown in number and become a threat to Egypt; they live in oppression. It is time to leave the situation that once had saved their lives. So God calls them to new life, to a new land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exod. 3:8).
Like Israel, the church and each of us are part of a pilgrim people. God calls us to one stage of life; when we have matured there, God calls us to the next. To go on, we may have to leave behind what at one time was our salvation. Would refusal to change and grow indicate resistance to God’s call, to God’s loving care for us? God calls us continuously to new life and liberation, both internal and external: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17).
Where is God calling me now? Where is God calling you? Where does the promise of new life reside? What old habits, ways, relationships, addictions hold us captive? What must we do to be free of them, to move on to new life?
Holy Spirit, lead me. Enlighten my mind and strengthen my heart that I may see where you call me now and have the courage to respond. Amen.[Theodore Tracy]
Our mailing address is:
The Upper Room Strategic Initiatives
PO Box 340007
“I have decided that I will bring them out of Egypt” (GNT). Egypt was at one time the salvation of the Hebrews. God’s people were called to Egypt, the land where Joseph served with authority, to be saved from famine. But now, a new king has arisen over Egypt “who [does] not know Joseph” (Exod. 1:8). The Hebrews have grown in number and become a threat to Egypt; they live in oppression. It is time to leave the situation that once had saved their lives. So God calls them to new life, to a new land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exod. 3:8).
Like Israel, the church and each of us are part of a pilgrim people. God calls us to one stage of life; when we have matured there, God calls us to the next. To go on, we may have to leave behind what at one time was our salvation. Would refusal to change and grow indicate resistance to God’s call, to God’s loving care for us? God calls us continuously to new life and liberation, both internal and external: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17).
Where is God calling me now? Where is God calling you? Where does the promise of new life reside? What old habits, ways, relationships, addictions hold us captive? What must we do to be free of them, to move on to new life?
Holy Spirit, lead me. Enlighten my mind and strengthen my heart that I may see where you call me now and have the courage to respond. Amen.[Theodore Tracy]
Our mailing address is:
The Upper Room Strategic Initiatives
PO Box 340007
Nashville, Tennessee 37203, United States
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