READING FOR JULY 1, 2024: EXODUS 14, COLOSSIANS 1, PSALM 61 EXODUS 14 Apparently some location names mentioned early in this chapter appear in recently discovered artifacts that don’t precisely clarify the geographic location. Wherever the Hebrews were, God wanted the Egyptians to believe they were wandering confusedly so they could be easily defeated. God wanted the Egyptians to chase them. This work of God had the immediate effect of discouraging the Hebrews into gallows humor about Egypt being ill-suited for burial. (In truth, Egypt was and is known for its advanced practices of mummification.)
God’s people were trapped: the Red Sea on one side and hundreds of charioteers on the other. God had Israel right where He wanted them in order to gain maximum honor from all sides and to firmly establish Moses as God’s chosen leader. Do we, as believers in Jesus, ever feel similarly beleaguered? This is from a 2023 Gallup Poll: “Americans’ beliefs regarding God, angels, heaven, hell and the devil have also fallen by double digits since 2001.”
The Bible says, don’t worry; it will get worse: “Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:12-13). Moses told his people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today” (Ex. 14:13). Paul tells us to “continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim.3:14-15). Reading and obeying the Bible might not seem like the parting of the Red Sea but keep it up for this three-year period and see what God does.
The Egyptian charioteers did indeed come to a realization that the Lord was in charge:“The Egyptians each said, ‘Let me flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.’”But it was too late: “The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained.” Remember, Paul said, in the future, “that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2: 11). But later in that same letter he also laments the eternal plight of those who rejected Jesus during their earthly lives: “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I weep, thatthey are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things.” Also consider, “Now is a day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2), and “You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow” (James 4:14).
COLOSSIANS 1 Paul explicitly informs the Colossians he is praying for them constantly. This suggests that telling people we are praying for them is good practice (if we are praying). Word of their faith had traveled to Paul. What is the word on the street about our church? We can check to see if we have any recent reviews: (4) Yorktown Methodist Church | Facebook
READING FOR JULY 1, 2024 CONTINUED: COLOSSIANS 1, PSALM 61
What did Paul say was central to the Colossi church and the key to growth of the Christian movement worldwide? “The gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth” (Col. 1: 5-6). Again, Paul didn’t say that loud music, hip young pastors, or cultural assimilation brings the increase. It is the Gospel that is accurately expressed and understood by its hearers. Do we understand the Gospel well enough to share it?
Ever wonder how to pray for our church? Yes, we can pray for those who are sick, but perhaps we can also use Paul’s prayer for Colossi as a model: “That you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all perseverance and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:11-12).
If we are rusty in understanding the Gospel, verses 13-23 explain Jesus’s and our role in it:
- We are born in a hostile position to God: (“alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds”).
- But Jesus came to earth to rescue us: (“He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”).
- Jesus then paid the price by His death on the cross for our sins: (“He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless”).
- We receive and continue in this free gift of grace through faith: (“if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard”).
PSALM 61 How easy it is to fall into a mindless pattern of prayer. Here David boldly raised the stakes for himself by asking the almighty God to listen and focus on his prayer. Prayer is the highest-stakes activity imaginable. Even so, David knows he can pray even when he senses distance from home and weakness in spirit. What a precious resource such prayer is. David knows that man alone, even a king such as himself, is not sufficient to cope with life. He needs a rock that is higher than himself. David has thus made the permanent commitment to find his protection and meaning in submitting to God’s sovereignty. Wise King.
David reaffirms these previous commitments to God and recalls the blessings that have flowed from them while anticipating future ones. His comment about sitting enthroned before Godforever is fully fleshed out by Paul many centuries later: “[God] raised us up with Him [Jesus], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6).
