Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from July 11-15 are provided by Tina Hsu, who is currently serving as a preaching-intern in East Asia. Tina is a graduate of Biola University and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.).
Devotional Thought for Today
Exodus 2:1-10
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him.5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
God shapes us uniquely for His purpose from the very beginning of our lives. We can certainly see a glimpse of God’s purpose for Moses from his birth. He was born during Pharaoh’s population control program. In order to control Israel’s population growth and potential to rise in power, he made the Israelites serve as slaves and formed an edict for all newborn Hebrew boys to be thrown into the Nile River.
Being a Hebrew boy, Moses faced the danger of the Nile at his birth. Yet God protected His life by using three women and a box made out of reeds. In biblical history, Moses is the first “dropbox baby.” Instead of casting him straight into the Nile, Moses’ mom made a box and placed him inside it, in hopes that someone may discover him and spare his life. Then, Moses’ sister followed Moses’ box as he helplessly went down the river and was found by Pharaoh’s daughter. It seems obvious that Pharaoh’s daughter would follow her father’s decree to cast Moses into the Nile, but she saw him and had compassion on him. Being a strategic sister, Moses’ sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter (v. 7) if she could help bring Moses back to a Hebrew woman who could nurse him, without revealing that she would bring him back to his mother. The moment Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Go ahead,” Moses’ life was preserved.
God’s favor was upon Moses since his birth to carefully preserve a deliverer for His people. Moses was born as part of the oppressed population, but God provided royal protection for Moses, and allowed him to grow up among the powerful, inside the palace of the world’s greatest nation. At the right time, despite trials and setbacks, Moses would later lead Israel out of Egypt. God prepared the events in Moses’ life so that Moses could walk into God’s unique purpose for him. Nothing about him being spared from Pharaoh’s edict was a result of his choosing and doing—it was entirely the Lord’s doing. This morning, reflect on the events and circumstances in your childhood, upbringing, and background. What privileges, experiences, and even hardships has God placed in your life, so that you could serve Him with a unique purpose?
Prayer: Praise the Lord, for You are so kind and compassionate. There certainly have been some good as well as not-so-good moments in my life, and I thank You for all of them because through them, You continue to teach me what it means to love and depend on You. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Psalm 108
Lunch Break Study
2 Samuel 17:33-38: Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.”34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor.
Questions to Consider
- What challenge is David accepting?
- Why does David think he is able to go against Goliath?
- In hindsight, David’s experience of tending and protecting sheep from danger prepared him for a greater task of fighting against Israel’s enemies. What prior experience/job do you think God used to form and prepare you for what He calls you to do today?
Notes
- David is motivated to fight on behalf of Saul’s army against Goliath the Philistine, a warrior giant.
- David believes that his prior experience as a shepherd boy has equipped him to face Goliath. God’s hand has helped him to protect sheep from the mouth of lions and bears. He trusts that God will not fail to protect him (and Israel) from the hand of Goliath, who is cursing God’s name and His people.
- Personal Response.
Evening Reflection
We are not saved by works (Eph. 2:8-9), but we are certainly saved and transformed to do the work of the Lord. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Reflect on how God has been preparing you in every season of your life to be His workmanship.
One of the easiest words to resist, or even despise, is when our parents or a person in authority sets up rules and says, “I tell you this for your good” or “I tell you this because I care for you.” Naturally, in our sinful nature, we want to be autonomous, independent, and the judge of right and wrong. Similarly, our hearts, when ignorant of God says, “I know the best for myself.” Scripture helps us to see that God’s commands are not burdensome or joy-killers. They don’t rob us of freedom. They are actually for our good. God’s Word helps us to live in our new freedom in Christ and to walk into His blessings and promises.
I grew up with a pretty good record of being an obedient daughter towards my earthly father. I obeyed and listened to him, but I didn’t obey because I loved him. I obeyed primarily because I was afraid of him—his temper and the idea of disappointing him. God has held my hand to overcome fear and to begin obeying my father because I love him. Even though my dad’s response is not in my control, this change in my heart has helped me to overcome fear. This has also revealed to me how God wants me to relate to Him. He desires that I obey His word because I love and adore Him. God calls us to obey Him because we love Him, for love is the channel through which He relates to us and desires us to relate to Him. He loved us first by sending His beloved Son to defeat sin and death, so that we could be reconciled to Him. He whole-heartedly loved us and calls us to whole-heartedly love Him in a relationship.
In the latest Disney Pixar movie Finding Dory, Dory journeys to find her parents. Due to her memory loss condition as a young fish, she frequently lost sight of her parents and would go off on her own, which is why she became lost and separated from her parents for this long duration. Dory’s search seems like an impossible task given the vast nature of the ocean. Despite her memory loss condition, Dory’s memory of her mom’s favorite item remained: seashells, particularly purple seashells. Swimming towards areas known for seashells became her clue that drew her closer to a reunion with her parents.
As Paul began his letter, so he ends—with a blessing of grace. It is the most important thing he has to offer; it is the most important thing any of us have been given. Grace. This grace underlies, overflows, and seeps through Paul’s entire letter.
Sometimes when we hear a sermon or read the Bible, the knowledge we gain is left theoretical or conceptual. When Tychicus delivered this letter to the church in Colossae, the Colossians might reasonably have thought they’d have time to reflect upon these words and consider their implications. However, they wouldn’t have this luxury. They would be tested right away.
There is a popular saying often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel daily; Use words if necessary.” One problem with this is that there is no record of St. Francis ever saying it. In fact, St. Francis was quite the preacher. While there is truth that our deeds must match the words that we speak, the gospel, by definition, is good news—not good living.
I remember Richard Mouw, former president of Fuller Theological Seminary, talking about when he was a seminary student. He spent many late nights in the library and got to know the custodian, an older gentleman who would engage Richard Mouw in conversations every so often.
At red carpet events, celebrities are often asked, “Who are you wearing?” And in turn, they’ll drop the name of some celebrity designer. Often, my response in the rare moments I catch one of these events on TV is, “Who cares?!” Well, apparently many people do. Who and what we are wearing is apparently a pretty big deal. Our clothing choices say something about our taste, our wealth, our personality. In other words, our clothing choices say something about our identity. It’s actually a much deeper question than I normally give it credit for.
Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from July 4-10 are provided by Pastor Barry Kang, who heads Symphony Church in Boston. Barry, a graduate of Stanford University and Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Sunny (an amazing worship leader, chef and math wizard). They are the proud parents of Caleb and Micah.
Right after commanding his readers to put to death that which is earthly, i.e. the old self and its practices (e.g. sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk and lies), Paul follows up with verse 11 (see above). We may wonder how the two ideas are connected.