First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Devotional: Colossians 1:1-2

Today’s passage: Colossians 1:1-2

Helpful thoughts:

  • The church at Colossae was started during or shortly after Paul’s ministry in Ephesus (Over 100 miles east of Colossae).  It is believed that Epaphras (4:12) put his faith in Christ under Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and then went home with the Gospel message.
  • It appears there was troubling false teaching that was damaging the church.  Paul writes this letter to teach truth to the church and correct any false doctrines.
    • Paul appeals to his role as an Apostle to write and teach with the authority and commissioning he possessed in the early church.
    • An Apostle was a “sent one.”  Sent by Christ Himself to take the Gospel message at the beginning stage of the birth and growth of the church.
  • The word for “grace” in the Greek sounded much like the typical greeting in society, so Christians were known to greet each other with the word for “grace” instead.  “Peace” was the typical Jewish greeting.  Paul here is simply (Yet meaningfully) greeting all the men and women in the church with both cultural greetings, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”

Questions to consider:

  1. “Saint” simply means to be set apart.  All those who have put their faith in Christ have been set apart.  That means “the saints” and the “faithful brothers (and sisters)” who received this letter was the same group of people?  To whom then was this letter originally written?  How do these words help us to better identify who we are still today?
  2. Why was Paul an Apostle?  Was it because he wanted it (Acts 8:1-3)?  Or because he was a great speaker (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)?  Who made Paul an Apostle?
  3. How has God shown you grace and given you peace?  How has Christ given you grace and peace with the Father?

Devotional: Exodus 40

Today’s passage: Exodus 40

Helpful thoughts:

  • The Tabernacle is set up!
  • The Ark of the Covenant was also referred to as the Ark of the Testimony because it contained the stone tablets where God wrote His Ten Commandments.
  • Today we see a repeat of an important phrase.  This time in reference to Moses.  “As the Lord had commanded Moses.”
  • Once the Tabernacle was completed, anointed, set apart and the priests were made ready, the glory of the Lord came down and filled the Tabernacle.
    • The pillar of cloud by day and fire by night now had a resting place.  God was present with His people in a very apparent, visible way.

Questions to consider:

  1. What had God said to the people after their rebellion with the golden calf (Exodus 33:3)?  After God’s grace and mercy was given, and the people repented and turned to obedience, what has now transpired?
  2. What promise do we have of God’s presence while we journey through this life (Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Corinthians 1:20-22)?
  3. How does the presence of God in the life of the believer become apparent (Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:22-23)?

Devotional: Exodus 39

Today’s passage: Exodus 39

Helpful thoughts:

  • The making of the garments for the priests is explained in detail in today’s chapter.
  • A key phrase throughout the chapter is, “As the Lord had commanded Moses.”
  • With the completion of these garments and all that went with the clothing of the priests, Israel had completed all that God had commanded them to make for the Tabernacle.  Once it was presented to Moses for final inspection, is was time to set everything up for worship.

Questions to consider:

  1. How many times can you find the phrase, “As the Lord had commanded Moses in this chapter?  Why do you think it was repeated so many times?
  2. Remembering that part of the meaning of “holy” is to be set apart, why are many of the things in this passage called, “holy?”  For what had they all been set apart?
  3. What did Moses do after the people had obediently completed the work (Verse 43)?  How does obedience bring blessing?  How did the obedience of Christ bring blessing?

Devotional: Exodus 38

Today’s passage: Exodus 38

Helpful thoughts:

  • The “He” of these passages doing the work is Bezalel (38:22, 35:30, 31:2).
  • The order which the making of all these items have been detailed are working progressively further away from the Most Holy Place.
  • As of the end of chapter 38, all the components of the Tabernacle have been made.  All that is left was to make the garments for the priests and to set it all up!

Questions to consider:

  1. How many men were accounted for in Israel at this time in the wilderness (Verse 26)?  What must this traveling group of people have been like?  How remarkable was this Exodus journey?
  2. What purpose would verses 21-31 have served for the people?  What were they recording?  What did it communicate to (And about) the people?
  3. What did these records communicate concerning the people’s view of God?  When we value God highly (Supremely!) how does that evidence itself in our lives?

Devotional: Exodus 37

Today’s passage: Exodus 37

Helpful thoughts:

  • The making of the “furniture” for the Holy and Most Holy Places is detailed in today’s chapter.
    • The Ark of the Covenant
      • This was for the Most Holy Place (Also known as, “The Holy of Holies”)
        • The Mercy Seat served as the “throne” of God’s presence with His people.
    • The Table for the Bread of the Presence
      • The bread for this table, which represented the Twelve Tribes of Israel would be added later.
    • The Golden Lampstand
    • The Altar of Incense
  • The making of the anointing oil for the priests and the special incense is recorded in the final verse.

Questions to consider:

  1. What kinds of skills are being utilized in the making of all these elements of the Tabernacle?  How meticulous must the builders have been?
  2. The Lord’s presence with His people was manifested in the Tabernacle/Temple.  Where does the Lord now reside?  What/Where/Who is the temple of the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)?

Devotional: Exodus 35:30-36:38

Today’s passage: Exodus 35:30-36:38

Helpful thoughts:

  • For the remainder of the Book of Exodus, the Tabernacle is going to be constructed and filled just as the Lord commanded.
  • The very men God had equipped and called out by name (31:1-11) are selected and given their tasks to perform.
  • The commands were given in detail, now the obedience will be given in detail as well.
    • After Israel failed to keep their part of the covenant, the Lord showed mercy and the covenant was renewed.  Now, we will get to see the obedience and thanksgiving of the people (Including their giving of materials toward the building of the Tabernacle).

Questions to consider:

  1. What/Who gave these men and workers the ability to do what they were doing with excellence?  Why were the people so generous with their giving?
  2. It might seem like it would have been easier to follow up all the instructions the Lord gave Moses with a line like, “Then Moses told the people what God said and they did it.”  Why do you think the Lord chose to give a full account of how the people obeyed?  What would the benefits be of taking the time to read through these chapters?
  3. What do we learn about the righteousness of God through this reading?  And how can we come to better appreciate the perfect righteousness of Christ, imputed to us, by reading through all the details of the Law?

Devotional: Exodus 35:1-29

Today’s passage: Exodus 35:1-29

Helpful thoughts:

  • Moses communicates the Lord’s Sabbath regulation and the call to contribute toward the Tabernacle to the people.
    • It may be helpful to remember, much of what we have been reading in the previous chapters was the Lord’s instruction to Moses.  Now, Moses is forwarding the information to the people.
  • The willingness of the people to give is reiterated in this passage.  These gifts were not required as a percentage or anything like that.  The people were presented the need and they gave as they desired.
    • Even though the gifts and the work were done voluntarily, it was still to be done with excellence (Skillfully – Verse 25).

Questions to consider:

  1. It is often thought when you ask for volunteers, you get whatever quality you get.  Is this the way we should view our service to the Lord?  Why is it right for all of us to strive for our very best when we serve Him?
  2. What was Moses’ responsibility as the spokesman in these moments?  What was he responsible to convey?  What would he not have been responsible (or able on his own) to accomplish?  Who truly accomplished this great showing of interest and desire to provide all these results?
  3. In what way could our service today be regarded as a “freewill offering” to the Lord?  In what ways do you serve?  What motivations keep your service joyful?  What thoughts can sometimes make serving a struggle?  How can we nurture a healthy heart for service?

Devotional: Exodus 34

Today’s passage: Exodus 34

Helpful thoughts:

  • The Lord gives further revelation concerning Himself to Moses and to us!
    • There is an apparent contradiction in verse 7.  The Lord forgives and also by no means will clear the guilty.  There must be a way for the Lord to forgive and declare some as righteous before Him.
  • The same reason the Lord spoke of consuming the nation was why Moses knew they needed the Lord to be among them (Compare 33:3 with 34:9).
    • Israel’s only hope (And ours) is in the grace of the Lord.
  • After Moses’ appeal, the Lord renewed the covenant and restated the instructions He had already given before.
  • The glory of the Lord continued to shine/reflect from Moses’ face.  The people of Israel knew Moses was giving them the Word of God when the glory of God shone from his face.

Questions to consider:

  1. How does God forgive and by no means clear the guilty?  How does He remain just and pardon sin (Romans 3:21-26)?
  2. What is the Apostle Paul teaching in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18?  What replaced the Old Covenant which Moses was conveying to Israel in this passage?  In what way is the veil removed and how can we be transformed by beholding the glory of the Lord?

Devotional: Exodus 33

Today’s passage: Exodus 33

Helpful thoughts:

  • God speaks of sending Israel to the Promised Land without Him.
    • Moses intercedes for the people.  Going anywhere without God is not worth going.  What made Israel special was that God was with them.
  • This truth also urged Moses to want to know God more.
    • Miracles are amazing.  Land is great.  Knowing God outweighs them all.
  • Grace is unmerited favor (Receiving what we do not deserve, what we have not earned).  When we think we deserve grace, it ceases to be grace.
    • God gives grace and mercy (Not receiving what we do deserve) to whomever He will.

Questions to consider:

  1. In what way does this chapter get to the heart of Israel’s (Or just mankind’s) relationship with God?  What is the deeper issue at hand here that undergirds all the desires Moses and we would have to know what God wants us to do in obedience to Him?
  2. Is knowing God a greater blessing than all the other blessings we may ask from Him?  How so?
  3. What did God provide for us that we might not be consumed and that we could come to know Him?  What all did it take?