Good Monday morning dear “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Do you find yourself awed by a cloudless night sky? Oh my, the stars… if you can see them. Streetlights, house lights, car lights, screen lights, stadium lights and so much more obscure the majesty of God’s night sky in most places in our day... but still, if you are fortunate enough to find a place to look up, far away from the distracting lights, the night sky can be simply overwhelming, can’t it?
We’re on a 30-day journey toward Christmas and these days we’re traveling with Moses as he and 1 million people flee Egyptian slavery bondage about the year 1450bc. We’re looking to see how, in that experience, God was both bringing deliverance in that generation, but also God was pointing forward more than 1400 years to what we call Christmas, helping us to see the power and significance of God coming to earth to live among us for the purpose of becoming THE only possible deliverer from our sin bondage… for the entire, enslaved human race!
As that huge throng of Hebrew slaves rushed out of their homes that deliverance night, to the sound of wailing all across Egypt, their euphoria very quickly turned to anxiety. None of them had ever been out of Egypt before!! Where should they go? What road should they take? Have you ever been confused in travel not knowing which road to take? Imagine 1 million people confused about what direction to run as they fled Egypt. But God had provided a plan, a guiding light to help this huge mob of fleeing slaves. Exodus 13:21 says: “The LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night fire was in that cloud to give them light so that they could travel by night or by day.” Incredible, isn’t it? A mysterious, miraculous guiding light which could be seen and followed by more than 1 million people running for their lives! Does that remind you of another guiding light? A light that is a very important part of the Christmas story?
Do you remember the Magi wise men who traveled from a far eastern country following a star? Stars of course are visible only at night, and that particular star was evidently very bright and easily distinguishable from all the other stars in the sky. It was a God sent star which somehow led the Magi from their distant land to Bethlehem, to find the newborn King, Jesus. (Matt. 2:1-12) Why? Because this God sent Jesus came to be Savior for all peoples of the entire world! And because even though God, the Creator of the universe and the human race was taking up residence in a newborn baby, He was not born in a palace surrounded with opulence, but rather in a stable surrounded by animals! His first visitors were not dignitaries from other kingdoms, but shepherds coming in from their fields, following the advice of angels who announced His birth. Was that pillar of fire guiding Moses and the Hebrew slaves out of slavery to meet with God, a prophetic experience that one day God would use a bright light in the sky to bring people from other nations to see newborn Jesus and find deliverance from their sin slavery?
And do you remember that John the beloved disciple, while writing his account of the life of Jesus, wrote this in describing the arrival of Jesus: “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world… the WORD became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only Son who came from the Father full of grace and truth.” (John 1:9-14) Jesus Himself once proclaimed: “I am the light of the world, whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Have you found Jesus to be your LIGHT of life? Has Jesus illuminated your dark world with His truth?
Have you ever noticed this brief statement in the Exodus story: “Many other people went up with them…” (Exodus 12:38) It means that as Moses was giving God’s instructions to the Hebrew slaves about what they should do to prepare for God’s rescue of them, other people living near them found out and some of them made the same preparations, and when the angel of death came through, no matter WHO the people were, if there was blood on their doorposts, they were sparred and they rushed out of Egypt with the fleeing Hebrews. It was a picture of God’s love for all people and His forward pointing to the wonderful reality that Jesus would come and die to pay the sin price for any person throughout the world so they could be delivered from their sin bondage!
How did God lead you to understand the wonderful Christmas story of Jesus coming to earth to lead us out of our sin slavery by trusting fully in Him and His atonement provision? Do you remember the day of your rescue from your sin slavery? How has Jesus, the light of the world, illuminated YOUR world, changing YOUR life?
And how has God led you by His light of truth from that day to this, as you’ve followed God leading you on the path of life HE has laid out before you? How have you seen God protect you from great danger? How has God provided all He has known that you have needed to follow Him on your journey of life? For the fleeing Hebrew slaves each day of the plagues God sent upon Egypt, and each day of their journey out of Egypt were days they were learning more and more about the uniqueness of the Almighty God who was freeing them from the inescapable grasp of Pharaoh.
Have we done the same thing? May I ask you my friends, in the time since you first trusted Jesus to be your Savior, can you begin making a list of all you have learned ABOUT God the Son Jesus who has rescued you; and God the Father who has adopted you as His son or daughter; and God the Holy Spirit who lives within you guiding you, empowering you, changing you more and more into the person God has designed you to be?
On this Monday, with less than three weeks till Christmas day, of all that you’ve learned about God, for what are you most thankful today? And here’s a song to help you consider that question, my friends…
Today’s Scripture is Exodus 14.
Choose below to read or listen.
 |  |
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).
Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.