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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Prayer to Change to Better Serve God

Holy God, I believe that you will change people and many things, if asked and if it is your will. Change me Lord, if it is your will, for I would lead a better life. Touch me, I pray, great God whose touch transforms. Reach out your mighty hand to me, and to all who seek you in the name of your Son. Heal us, transform us, and make us whole; reach out your mighty hand to lift us up to serve you; touch me and all of us this very day, O Lord, that our own hands may bring your hope and healing to this broken world.

by Mason Barge 8/13

Simple Thanks

Meditation

[God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them.]

Prayer of Resolve

I  bind myself to you this day, oh Christ, in your truth and in your sacrifice. I give to you my anxiety and my fear, my depression and my doubt, for you have promised to take them if we only ask; and I take upon myself your burden, for it is light and your way is gentle. May I keep this in my heart and mind all this day.

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

A 14th-century German illuminated Haggadah. A Haggadah is the script recited at the first two Seder meals of Passover. It tells the story of the Exodus.

Psalm 50:22-23 (NKJV)

Exodus 12:33-42 (ESV)

The Exodus

The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders.

The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.

Exodus Map - Hammond   Exodus Map 2

Notes on the Scripture

And so the promise of the Burning Bush, "I AM", is fulfilled. The Hebrews are not simply allowed to leave Egypt; they are practically driven away. They have won a war without drawing a sword; their only physical weapons are two staffs, carried by Moses and Aaron. Moreover, the Egyptians, in shock over the deaths of all the firstborn, are so desperate to be rid of them that they freely give up their gold, jewelry, and clothing.

The Hebrews were not looking for luxury; they would need the money to survive their coming ordeal. They head out into the wilderness, a huge host of about 25,000 people, and depart so quickly they cannot leaven their bread, just as they have been prepared to do.

(Note: The English translation of "six hundred thousand men on foot" is almost surely incorrect; we will discuss this at length in a day or two.)

They will now have to do penance for their sins; it will take them forty years to get right with God. The exodus itself is the beginning of God's training the Hebrews to follow His law. Worshipping idols is akin to "Sunday Christianity". One burns something before the idol when one wants something from the god, and then one goes on about his day, his conduct unchanged. But the relationship of the Hebrews to Yahweh will be something new. They will have to change their conduct permanently and continuously, living their lives in obedience to God-given law.

Profound, fundamental change does not come easy. The process has already started. We see the Hebrews acting in obedience to extensive dictates for Passover and gaining, by their obedience, a great boon.

Moreover, this new God is only partially revealed, unlike the tangible statues of Thoth and Anubis. He is beginning the long process of implanting faith. He is gradually weaning the Hebrews off the milk of a visible statue, onto the solid food of faith in an unseen God. There will still be visible evidence of Him, but it will be ever more distant, until their faith has grown so strong they can follow the Word of a God they cannot see.

Daily Inspiration

“Finding the Words”

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