In this passage we come to the last of the seven I am statements. Jesus says, “I am the true Vine.” Jesus uses this illustration to teach his disciples what the only way of bearing fruit comes from. Here are two things to notice....
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I am found, WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE. In December of 1772 John Newton started to write the song that is so well known, Amazing Grace. I am not aware of every verse that inspired John Newton to write this song, but I do suspect that John 9 could have been used. If it wasn’t, it is still a very fitting line for the chapter we are studying today. Here are some points....
Today we come to one of the celebrations of Israel that holds much significance for us today. Let’s dive in....
Moses experienced the Lord’s presence in a myriad of unique and fascinating ways during his lifetime. There are also various parallels that God intended to draw between Moses and the greater future deliverer of God’s people, Jesus Christ. Today we are going to highlight one distinct way that Moses foreshadowed Christ. Although the majority of the focus that you have pr...
Keep ReadingExodus 33 opens with the aftermath of the golden calf debacle. God’s answer to their rebellion was to tell them, “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” God had been traveling in the midst of the people up to this point on their journey. In some mysterious way, Hi...
Keep ReadingWhen reading a chapter like Exodus 32, it is necessary to remind ourselves of the context. In this case, we can only comprehend the weight of the Israelite’s wickedness when we are reminded of what God had just done for them. These are the exact same people who had been living for generations as slaves under the oppressive hand of a genocidal maniac. They had just observ...
Keep ReadingOne of the greatest blessings that we have in this life, truly one of the most humbling and mind-boggling realities of the Christian life is that the Holy Spirit has been sent to make His home in our hearts. Every single believer functions as the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20) We are promised that the Holy Spirit will indwell us (Ezekiel 36:27), and sea...
Keep ReadingPerhaps you have heard the phrase, “Talk is cheap.” It is all too easy to promise that we are going to do something and then fail to follow through. The Shepherding Notes today are simple in terms of complexity, simple to understand, but incredibly challenging to live out. Consider just a few verses....
Keep ReadingThe latter chapters of Exodus contain an abundance of instructions that the Lord gave to Moses concerning the specifications of the tabernacle and all of its furniture and design. Why was the LORD so particular about such small details like the color of the woven fibers ...
Keep ReadingYesterday we began to explore the tabernacle and its various pieces of divinely mandated furniture. The key point to remember is that everything that God designed was intentionally done in order to point forward to Jesus Christ. Our primary focus yesterday was on the mercy seat that covered the ark of the covenant that represented the fact that Jesus would come and mer...
Keep ReadingLet’s recap for just a moment. The Israelites have just been freed from their enslavement to the most powerful nation in the world. God set them free by sending the most powerful plagues in the history of the world. He then conquered their enemies by literally parting the Red Sea and leading them through safely before crushing Pharaoh and his armies beneath the collapsin...
Keep ReadingWhen we last saw the Israelites, they had just made their way through the Red Sea and had turned around to see the Egyptians pursuing them with all deliberate speed. Once every Israelite had safely made it above the water line, the Lord closed the waters in, destroying Pharaoh and his entire army. Proverbs 11:10 tells us that, “when the wicked perish there are shouts of ...
Keep ReadingThere is perhaps no event more iconic in the Old Testament than the parting of the Red Sea. It is the final nail in the coffin as the Lord was completing the absolute humiliation of the Egyptians. There have been many attempts throughout history to claim that the Israelites did not actually walk through what we think of the Red Sea today. Skeptics instead believe that Mose...
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