Exodus 30:34 “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each.’” 

KEEP IT SPECIAL

How many of you remember the TV show “The Waltons”?  Do you remember the Baldwin sisters?  They were two older unmarried sisters who had a “special recipe.”  It was their own special recipe from their father who was famous for his moonshine.  They didn’t make much, and they didn’t sell it, but everyone knew about it.  That recipe was a guarded secret.

God had his own “special recipe.”  The incense used by Aaron and the priests was not to be made for any other purpose.  They were not to share the exact recipe with anyone.  This was a holy recipe, unlike the Baldwin sisters’ recipe.  This recipe was to be used daily in the worship of a holy God.  It had a specific purpose.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children should be told often that they are a “special recipe” prepared by God.  They have a specific purpose which can only be discovered as they surrender their hearts and life to Jesus.  Your role as parent is to point them in His direction.  You are to prepare their hearts to receive Him by praying with them, by reading them His Word and by listening when they ask questions about Him.

Some recipes take longer to prepare and cook.  Your child may respond at an early age to God’s calling.  Others may come to Him later. Don’t stop preparing them.  Don’t give up. Keep doing your part in God’s plan for them.

Are you frustrated with your “recipe” right now?  Maybe you need to let it simmer for a while.  Let the Great Chef cook you to perfection. He knows when you are “done.”  Trust Him.

Heavenly Father, I want to be the sweet incense in Your nostrils.  I want my life to smell like You, not me.  Help me spread Your fragrance all around, especially to my children and family.

 Exodus 27:20 “‘You shall charge the sons of Israel, that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.’”

UNEXTINGUISHABLE

These chapters in Exodus in today’s daily reading are all about setting up the tabernacle.  God is a God of details.  Just read these three chapters.  But what struck me today was verse 20 of chapter 26.  God is a God of light also, and His light will “burn continually”.

Can you imagine the nation of Israel in the desert seeing the glow of the light all night, every night?  A constant reminder of God’s presence.  A reassuring “night light” for all to see.  It’s the same today.  His light burns in and through us.  We are His light in a dark world.  Our light needs to be tended to daily to make sure all can see it.

TEACHING MOMENT

Kids love fire and matches, don’t they?  What kid doesn’t love to build a fire outside and watch it glow?  Of course, they want to play in the fire and roast marshmallows.  I do too.  But take this opportunity to talk about the light of your fire compared to God’s.  Your fire and its light will go out. God’s light is eternal.  Your firelight has to have wood or something else to burn.  God’s light comes from God Himself.

Our children need to know that they can ALWAYS depend on the light of God.  When their world seems dark, His light can brighten their way.  When they allow His light to shine in and through them, they can draw others to Him.  Isn’t that the purpose of “our little light”?

I pray you will allow your light to shine brightly.  I pray you will let His light to be your light.  Shine for Him and Him only.

Father of light, there is no variation or shifting shadow in You.  Your light draws out all my darkness.  Praise You for lighting my path.

 Exodus 23:28 “‘I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you.’”

OUCH

This verse just proves that God will use anything to accomplish His Will. He has used frogs and gnats, hailstones and bloody water. He even used a donkey.  And here He tells Moses He will use hornets to drive the heathen nations out.

Have you ever been chased and stung by bees or yellow jackets or hornets?  It’s pretty terrifying and painful.  For some it can be downright deadly if they are allergic.  Don’t be surprised what God might use to get your attention, as He shows you His plan for your life.

TEACHING MOMENT

I bet you and your children have watched bees gather pollen or you’ve seen a wasp nest or a hornet’s nest.  Refer them to this verse the next time.  Talk about how God can use the smallest thing to accomplish His Will and bless His children.  I bet your kids will find it kind of funny to think about throngs of people being driven out of their homes and off their lands to make room for God’s people.  Why not let them draw a picture of that?

The humor of the scene isn’t the main thing, though.  It’s the fact that God will work ahead of us to prepare the way.  Your children need to learn that.  They need to trust that God will do amazing things for us, if we just trust Him.

Are you trusting?  Are you allowing Him to drive out your enemies or are you taking them on yourself?  Let Him work and enjoy the show.  He will tell you when He wants you to step in, I promise.

Father of all creation, thank You that You will use all of Your creation to show me who You are.  Use me, Lord, to show others Your way.  And help me trust You to take care of my “enemies.”

 Exodus 20:1 “Then God spoke all these words, saying,”

COMMANDMENTS

Verses 1-17 of Exodus 20 are God speaking to the people and Moses on Mt. Sinai.  He came down in a dark cloud with flashing light.  They could hear Him but not see Him.  And He gave them the 10 commandments.  The people heard God give Moses these ten guidelines for living long before they ever saw those stone tablets.  And they were scared.

Now, I have to admit.  If I was standing there near the mountain and witnessed this, I might be a little nervous too.  We think we would have acted differently than the people did then.  But would we have?  I doubt it.  Flesh is flesh no matter what century it is.

TEACHING MOMENT

So, take a minute and read these 10 commandments to your kids.  Help them memorize them.  There are several ways you can do that using your fingers to remember each one.  Just google “memorizing the 10 commandments using your fingers.”  You will see tons of websites and YouTube videos.

However you learn them, make it fun for little Susie or little Johnny.  But don’t just stop there.  Make sure they understand each commandment.  Each one is as important today as it was then.  Through Christ, we can follow them.  Through Christ we have the Spirit to remind us of each of these daily.

If you are like me, you have failed one or more of these commandments.  Praise be to God that my salvation does not rest in keeping a list of rules, no matter how important they are.  Now hear me out.  Christ has fulfilled them all perfectly.  And because He has, I can rest in Him.  Hallelujah.

Father, thank You for giving us guidelines to follow.  But thank You more for giving us the example to follow, Your Son Jesus.  Help me be obedient to all your commands so that I can draw others to You.

 Exodus 17:11-12 “11 So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.” 

SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED A LITTLE HELP

Don’t you just love this story?  I don’t mean the battle and the victory.  I mean Aaron and Hur coming to the aid of Moses.  Nowhere does it say that Moses asked for their help.  They saw Moses struggling and the obvious effect it had on the army, so they jumped in.  They rolled a rock over to Moses, sat him down and lifted his hands.  Teamwork!

Don’t you want people around you like that?  I do.  I need other men in my life who will step in and help when they see me struggling.  Men, myself included, don’t ask for help too easily. We think we can do it ourselves.  But when we try and are failing, we aren’t the only ones who suffer.  Our wives and our children do, too.

TEACHING MOMENT

Teaching our children to rely on others can be tricky.  We don’t want them to be moochers and depend on others for everything.  We don’t want them to be lone rangers and never ask for help.  There’s a delicate balance that is best taught by modeling this for them.  Make sure they know when others come to your aid.  Make sure they hear you thank them too.

Teamwork among believers is so crucial to a healthy church and church family.  Being able to call on someone when we are in a pinch is a wonderful gift.  Your children will do well to learn this early in life.  They can learn it by being that person for someone else, too.

Father, You are the ultimate team builder.  Show me those around me I can depend upon.  Help me lean on them.  And let me be that for someone else when they are in need.

 Exodus 14:13-14 “13 But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.’”

 JUST STAND THERE

 Sometimes it is fun to just watch.  We can watch something good and worthwhile are something silly and a waste of time.  Whichever it is, we just watch.  Somebody else is doing all the action.  Kind of like watching a football game.  The guys on the field are doing all the running and tackling.  We just watch.

God is telling Moses to tell all the people to just watch Him work. He was going to take care of the Egyptians once and for all.  He was done warning them.  He was done with their threats towards His people.  All Moses and the people had to do was watch Him do His thing.

TEACHING MOMENT

Do your kids ever watch you work?  There is nothing they can do but watch.  You don’t expect them to help.  It is beyond their ability and skills.  You even tell them, “Don’t touch anything.  Just sit there.”

The next time this happens, remind them of this verse.  The people got to see God do an amazing thing.  They had to just watch and believe.  Just like your children watch you, they need to be taught to trust the powerful hand of our Savior Who will do amazing things if we will just trust.

Are you too busy doing to watch?  Is God wanting to work in your life, but you want to do it yourself?  Let Him work.  Let Him fight for you. He will always be victorious.  He will always fight for you.

Lord, I am thankful You want to work in my life.  I am thankful You want to show me how You are on my side.  Help me to trust You and allow You to overwhelm with Your grace.

 Exodus 11:10 “Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.”

HARDENED

Probably one of the most asked questions about the story of the plagues is “Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart?”  You have to understand that Pharaoh had already hardened his own heart.  In fact, in at least two of the plagues it says he did.

But long before this happened, he had hardened his heart against the Hebrew slaves.  This may have been the same Pharaoh (or at least the son) who had ordered the male babies to be killed.  This is the same Pharaoh who kept them as slaves.  His heart was hard.  God could have wiped Egypt off the face of  the earth to free His people.  Pharaoh actually was shown mercy.

TEACHING MOMENT

I bet your children think your discipline is too hard sometimes, right?  When you have to hand down consequences children can complain and whine.  Sometimes, when you discipline they get mad, but did you cause them to get mad.  No, you did what you had to do.  They chose to get mad, even though they deserved the discipline.

The next time this happens, read them this verse.  Explain that Pharaoh acted just like they are acting.  Now you are not going to send 10 plagues on them (lol), but you have to follow through on discipline.  You are trying to direct them to obey, not only you, but God.

Is your heart hard?  I read recently that the sign of a mature man is one who has moved from thin skin and hard heart to thick skin and soft heart. How about you?

Father, soften my heart.  Show me how to hear from You.  Give me the desire to follow You wherever You lead.

 Exodus 8:24a “Then the Lord did so.”

JUST LIKE HE SAID

It never ceases to amaze me how we pray for God’s Will to be done, and then when God answers, according to His Will, we don’t like the answer we got.  God ALWAYS answers prayers.  Sometimes it’s yes, sometimes it’s no and sometimes it’s wait.  But He always answers.

God had instructed Moses and Aaron in the order of the plagues.  I just love this first part of Exodus 8:24. It just says “Then the Lord did so.”  Period.  End of discussion. Done!  When God decides to do something, it’s done.  God warned Pharaoh time and time again.  He had ample opportunity to yield, but pride and arrogance always gets in the way of hearing God.

TEACHING MOMENT

It is so important that we teach our children to pray according to God’s Will.  Now that is not the easiest task.  How do you know God’s Will?  How do you help them understand God’s Will for their life?

The easiest way I have found is to seek what will give Him the most glory.  Pray that and then see what He does.  If we are willing to accept WHATEVER He does in answering our prayer, we have discovered God’s Will.  Just teach your children that God will never do anything which goes against His Word or His character.  Never!

What are you praying for right now?  Are you in need of being released from bondage, like the Hebrews?  Seek the Lord.  Ask Him what He is teaching you right now.  Ask Him to show you the way out.  Surrender to Him and allow Him to lead you to freedom.

Redeemer and Lord, You are the one who frees me from my everyday chains.  Help me surrender my will to Yours.  Help me lead my children to do the same.

 Exodus 5:2 “But Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.’”

LET MY PEOPLE GO

 Have you run into people with this same attitude?  “I don’t believe in God, so I don’t have to abide by His laws.”  Unbelief does not negate His existence.  Nor does it do away with the need to abide.  Pharaoh found that out the hard way, remember?  10 plagues ending with the death of the first born!  Pretty tough way to learn, huh?

Even after going through all that, Pharaoh still hardened his heart and came after the people Moses was leading out of Egypt.  Some people just don’t learn.  But before you are so harsh, think about how hard headed you are sometimes.

TEACHING MOMENT

Children can be hard headed, too.  Guess who they learn that from?  Yep, you!  We model bad behavior so often that we don’t even recognize it.  The next time Elrod or Gertrude bow up at you, stop and think, “Did I give them this example?”  You may be surprised at what you discover.

Teaching our children to abide by the Lord’s commands shouldn’t be all that difficult if we are living by them ourselves.  As we model obedience, they will learn to obey.  As we bow to His direction, they will learn to follow Him in their choices.  Teach them by leading them, not preaching to them.

Are you obeying today?  Are you abiding in Him?  Don’t be a Pharaoh with the hard heart who thinks he knows best.  Be the one who obeys without questioning because you know if the Lord gives you a command, it is always for your good.

O Lord, show me the ways I am not obedient to you.  Show me the right way to live.  Show me the truths to teach my children and others.

Exodus 1:17 “But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.”

PRECIOUS LIFE

Every year at our church we celebrate Sanctity of Human Life day.  It’s usually the third Sunday of January.  Having worked with ministries who assist mothers with unplanned pregnancies, this is near and dear to my heart.  That’s why this verse today stuck out to me.

Pharaoh had basically ordered the midwives to abort the male children through what we call today, partial birth abortion.  But they refused.  They feared God more than Pharaoh.  They knew they were held to a higher law.  Understand something clearly.  They knew they could have died for their decision, but they stood firm anyway.

TEACHING MOMENT

Parents must teach their children that when man’s law clashes with God’s law, God’s law wins every time.  We are fortunate here in America that we haven’t been faced with that very often.  But I fear the day is coming when we may.  Your child may already be facing some decisions at school that come close to that.  Be ready to support them and defend them.

But you know, little Susie and Johnny are already facing those pressures to conform to a worldly standard by peers.  Hold them to the Word.  Encourage them to stand strong.  Read them this verse.  Look at the result.  Moses was saved and eventually was used by God to lead the people out of Egypt.  Stand strong!

What are you compromising right now?  When you attend that office party or company social event, are you tempted to let your standards down a little. Don’t! Don’t let the world dictate your standards.  Only the Lord can do that.  Hold true to the Word and let it guide you.

Lord, You are the Law Giver.  I know that.  But You are also the Grace Giver.  When I fail You by compromising or giving in, please forgive me.  Give me the courage to be bold in my witness and lead my children to stand tall and firm.