February 1 :: Exodus 27-28; Matthew 21:1-22

God uses really specific materials in the sanctuary. It must be rich with meaning. But what does it mean? Here is some info, website listed below on meaning of colors ::

Scarlet (used for curtains/veils in the sanctuary) :: Jesus was obedient in giving up His life for the forgiveness of our sins...through His blood.

Purple (curtains) :: royalty.

Blue (curtains) :: to remind Israel of the 10 commandments.

White (curtains) :: Jesus' sacrifice made our sins white as snow.

Check out Lynda Peterson's article for more interpretations & info of the meaning of colors used in the sanctuary :: http://www.hisgloryringministries.com/tn-colorssanctuary-1.html

This is perhaps what the sanctuary might have looked like ::

January 31 :: Exodus 25-26; Matthew 20:17-34

Consider the perfect chronology of this scripture:

Matthew 20: 29-34

1) As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.

2) Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

3) The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

4) Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.

5) "Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."

6) Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.

7) Immediately they received their sight and followed him."

What was it like the first time you "saw" so to speak...God? The first few lines of "Amazing Grace" catch this sweet moment I suspect. Check it out if you'd like below:

 

"Amazing Grace" By: Chris Tomlin

January 30 :: Exodus 23-24; Matthew 20:1-16

January 29 :: Exodus 21-22; Matthew 19

Exodus 22: 22-24

"Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.  My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless."

The Lord is extremely protective over His people in this passage. What does that say about what we mean to Him?

January 28 :: Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35

January 27 :: Exodus 16-18; Matthew 18:1-20

January 26 :: Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17

When the Israelites were being chased by the Egyptians near the Red Sea, they were so frightened by their circumstance that they actually wished God would have left them alone. Moses said in response:

Exodus 14:14

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

And what did the God do next? He told Moses to raise his staff and the seas were caused to divide leaving a path of dry ground on which to escape.

Next time trials come our way...will we speak like the crowd of the Israelites (out of fear), or will we act like their leader (out of faith)?

January 25 :: Exodus 12-13; Matthew 16

Exodus 12: 26-27

And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.' Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

January 24 :: Exodus 9-11; Matthew 15:21-39

January 23 :: Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15:1-20

The beginning of Matthew 15 is a very special message! Have you heard of the Hebrew word Korban? It means to "sacrifice" or to "draw near to God." The Pharisees used to use this term for the money gift they would give to the church instead of helping their parents. They would claim that the Korban would have cleansed their hands - and that they were exempt from helping their parents.

When the Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples in Matthew 15 of not washing their hands before they eat bread, Jesus rebuts (and very effectively!) by exposing their man-made tradition of Korban.

Matthew 15:3-6

And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? "For God said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.' "But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God," he is not to honor his father or his mother.' And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 

Korban inscription. Many thanks to Bible History Online.

January 22 :: Exodus 4-6; Matthew 14:22-36

Exodus 4: 14-17

"Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it."

Look how the Lord reacts when He burns with anger! He not only 1) puts His loved one's fears aside by giving him a solution, but 2) comforts and pushes him forward onto the plans He has.

I want to try this next time I get mad - ask myself: "What are they doing that's making me angry? Where does that originate in them?" For if I ask, I may find out - and can then help put their fears aside and then encourage them to do His Will!

Pretty cool, huh?

January 21 :: Exodus 1-3; Matthew 14:1-21

Let's organize our brains and gage the timing of the book of Exodus (greek for "way out") ::

Joseph's death, end of book of Genesis = 1804 b.c.
Start of slavery in Egypt, start of Exodus = 1875 b.c.
Moses born = 1525 b.c.
Moses' exile in Midian = 1485 b.c.
Jews delivered from Egypt = 1445 b.c.
End of wanderings in the wilderness = 1405 b.c.


The deliverance in Exodus fulfills the promise found in Genesis 15:13-14 ::

"Then the LORD said to him, 'Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.'"

January 20 :: Genesis 49-50; Matthew 13:31-58

January 19 :: Genesis 46-48; Matthew 13:1-30

the seed = the Word of God

I went to a weekend retreat in Waihi Beach, New Zealand and heard Darin Bufkin, a staff member of Tandem Ministries, speak about the Parable of the Sower. He chose this scripture passage to encourage believers in Christ to really listen to what the Word is saying, because so many things rest upon it. Here is his helpful outline to becoming a better listener (or in other words, to becoming good soil for seeds to flourish) ::

1. Pray that God would give you the good and honest hear
2. Meditate on the Word of God, read with a view to stir up a hunger for God.
3. Trust in the truth that you already have.
4. Spend time with God when you are rested.
5. Plan to meet God honestly.
6. Come in a spirit of meek teachability.
7. Think earnestly about what you read, pray and discuss with others.
8. Desire the truth of God's Word more than you desire riches or food.

January 18 :: Genesis 43-45; Matthew 12:24-50

Genesis 45:7 - Joseph says...

"Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt."

"father" here means "adviser"

Note 2 things about the Lord's sovereignty over our lives here ::

1. to take an evil done (to Joseph by his brothers) and turn it into goodness, merited to His glory

2. to put His people in positions of great power and influence (Joseph equal to Pharaoh)

January 17 :: Genesis 41-42; Matthew 12:1-23

This is a sweet time in Egyptian history - for the Lord was seen and glorified Himself in Egypt. Not only did the Pharaoh at the time of Joseph (about 14th century b.c.) recognize the spirit of God in Joseph's life (discernment), but welcomed Joseph whole-heartedly (in turn, welcoming the Lord) and gave him authority over the Egyptians! What a merciful God to show Pharaoh His will for Egypt.

Genesis 41:28, Joseph says...

"God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do."

Can God show us His will for our land - or was that just Old Testament stuff? Well He may have started in Arizona with Governor Janice Brewer's proclamation for a day of prayer (the first state proclamation for prayer since the late 1800's) on 17 January 2010! Check it out here ::

 http://www.bridgebuilders.net/

January 16 :: Genesis 39-40; Matthew 11

January 15 :: Genesis 36-38; Matthew 10:21-42

January 14 :: Genesis 33-35; Matthew 10:1-20

Genesis 33:4 & 10

"Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept... Jacob said, 'No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably.'"

Jacob and his brother Esau are united after about 20 years. And Jacob is not greeted with the contempt that he expects, but with a merciful, gracious love! By our actions and re-actions, we can be reflections of God to others. We are mere humans...but made in the image of God - and sometimes, when we act in accordance with the original nature that the Lord purposed us with - we truly reflect Him. Amen!

January 13 :: Genesis 31-32; Matthew 9:18-38

Matthew 9:37

"Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few."

We are the laborers! How can we labor for Him who created the harvest? Through the power of the Spirit - Who brings people back from the dead. A great point of prayer - for His words to be on our lips!

January 12 :: Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17

January 11 :: Genesis 27-28; Matthew 8:18-34

This is pretty cool! Have you thought about the extent of the Lord's faithfulness recently?

Matthew 8:25-26

"The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We're going to drown!' He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?' Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm."

Why is it that we believe, so securely, that Old Faithful (Yellowstone National Park, Wisconsin), will erupt everyday, at every hour - but we cannot believe in the mighty protective strength of Jesus Christ nor believe that He can and will answer our prayers? Why?


He is mighty. He IS strength. He is...the most ancient of old faithfuls. He does not fail. And we believe. Our hope is not put to shame, but set free.

January 10 :: Genesis 25-26; Matthew 8:1-17

January 9 :: Genesis 23-24; Matthew 7

January 8 :: Genesis 20-22; Matthew 6:19-34

Genesis 22:5

"Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you."

A lie? Was Abraham only telling these men a half-truth by saying him and Isaac would return, knowing what the Lord had asked of him - that being to sacrifice his own son?

Not at all. He trusted with all his heart in the goodness of what the Lord commanded of him. Interesting thought below...

"Abraham's confidence that Isaac would return with him from the place of sacrifice stemmed from his explicit belief in resurrection." - Moody, Ryrie Study Bible

And if Abraham treasured keeping God's commands more than his own adored son - than in God his heart shall be too (according to Matthew 6:21).

January 7 :: Genesis 18-19; Matthew 6:1-18

Genesis 19:26

"But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt."

Thousands of years later, Jesus references this...

Luke 17:32-33

"Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it."

Lot's wife looked back because she left her heart in Sodom and died for it. Let us always look ahead and rejoice at the unique pathways God has laid out for us! Let us always seek Him and never turn back to the places of slavery from where He rescued us!

It's about...........that's right..........

Losing yourself!

You will be found by Christ - (Amen.)

January 6 :: Genesis 16-17; Matthew 5:27-48

January 5 :: Genesis 13-15; Matthew 5:1-26

January 4 :: Genesis 10-12; Matthew 4

January 3 :: Genesis 7-9; Matthew 3