Read to prACTice

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Debate not. Do not mention! I. Click here to READ  Exodus 23   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (after teaching His people how to treat others rightly including treating oneself Scripturally to a day of rest in a week, the Lord said...) 13 “Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth. III. Reflection *  Questions :  What good can be had from this instruction that our mouths are not to mention the name of other gods? IV. Application : Dear Jehovah God: I thank You for instructing me that You are the only true God; there is no need to debate the issue, argue about it, or attempt to make any comparison. Doing any one of these three things will require my mouth to make mention of other people's gods. Please help me to be obedient to this instruction of Yours. Thank You, Lord, fo...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Dirt poor... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 22   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (The Lord said...) 25  “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.   26  If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets,   27  for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious. III. Reflection *  Questions :  How poor might God's people be?  IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for letting me know up front that although I am Your people, in this temporary life, I could be poverty-stricken and become dirt poor--having nothing and even the clothes on my body might be taken a...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* The mark of love... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 21   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (a Hebrew slave is free to leave his master after six years of service. But, out of love for his master and his own family, he can stay by saying . . . "I will not leave as a free man"...) 6  then his master shall bring him to  God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an  awl; and he shall serve him permanently. III. Reflection *  Questions :  What is an awl? Why was the need to mark a slave's ear with an awl? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for letting me see that the high cost of love must be paid voluntarily by one's freedom. Complete payments must be marked in such a way as to be recognized easily. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for reminding me that You want Your people to be so marked that others would kno...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Individualize the Commandments... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 20   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches : 1  Then God spoke all these words, saying,  2  “I am the  Lord  your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery . . ." III. Reflection *  Questions :  What was the population of the Israelites when they left Egypt? When the Lord spoke to such a huge crowd, why did He use the word of singular nature instead of plural--you (person) instead of you (people)? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for reminding me that You expect the implementation of Your commandments and instructions to be individualized. No one can do them for me nor can I do them for anyone else. It is not a group effort either; I cannot divide the compliance responsibilities. Dear Lord God: as You meant to speak directly to me alone, may I be aware tha...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Prepare to meet the supremely holy God... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 19   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (The Lord told Moses to prepare the people in two days. On the third day, the Lord will come down on the mountain for all people to see. Then on the third day...) 18  Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the  Lord  descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.   III. Reflection *  Questions :  Even today with electronic eyes from space and very sensitive sensors in the ocean's depth, can earthquakes be predicted for a specific location and within a certain time? IV. Application : O Lord! You are the God; nature submits to Your authority. Only You, O Lord, can make an appointment for a violent earthquake to happen in three days and be localized to Mt. ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* First thing first, Observe all things... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 18   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Moses sat to judge the people of Israel, and the Israelites stood around Moses from morning till evening...) 14  When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” III. Reflection *  Questions : When did the father-in-law of Moses start to give constructive criticism to him? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank you for showing me that Moses' father-in-law started to give his constructive criticism to Moses only after he saw things for himself and, then, only after seeing all that Moses did. Seeing all of them, not some or part of what Moses did. I thank You, God, for taking me to this point to remind me not to jump ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Pray laboriously and fervently... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 17   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (during the war against the Amalek, Joshua and his men fought as Moses, assisted by Aaron and Hur, went to the top of the hill to lift up his hand toward heaven to pray...) 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. III. Reflection *  Questions :  What was the meaning of lifting one's hand up, particularly in the case of Moses? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for reminding me of the laborious nature of praying. And You did expect that from Moses! I than...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Tomorrow, a holy Sabbath to the Lord... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 16   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (To the Israelites traveling through the wilderness...) 23 He [Moses] said to them, “This is what the  Lord  has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of  solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the  Lord ..." III. Reflection *  Questions : Where in the above Scripture is preparation talked about? The Sabbath is solemn and important to whom? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for telling us today what to do for tomorrow's special day, the Sabbath. You want us to be prepared for it because it is to be treated with solemnity. The Sabbath is holy to You. O God! May I see the Sabbath from Your point of view. To You, the Holy One, the Sabbath is holy. May I treat it with reverence for You. May I rest in it to express my love for You. May I prepare to enter it. Tomorrow ( Exo 1...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* A personalized cross... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 15   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (just crossed the Red Sea as walking on dry ground...) 1  Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the  Lord , and said,  “I will sing to the  Lord , for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.  2  “The  Lord  is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him . . ." III. Reflection *  Questions :  What do  all the following phrases: "I will sing", "my strength", "my salvation", "my God", "my father's God" and "I will extol" express? IV. Application : I thank You, Lord God, for letting me see that it was a huge choir singing praises to You in the wide-open wilderness. Yet, the singing was individ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Turn back, Go forward, Go north... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 14   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (So the Israelites exited Egypt and the Lord led them through the wilderness...) 1 Now the  Lord  spoke to Moses, saying, 2  “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea . . .  15 Then the  Lord  said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward."   III. Reflection *  Questions :  What was the significance of the Lord telling the Israelites to turn back when the angry Egyptian army was chasing after them? And then later He commanded them to again go forward? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I do not understand the significance of Your commanding Your people sometimes to turn back in their ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Life or Death Near or Far Make it the will of the Father... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 13   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches : 17  Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”   18  Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea . . .   III. Reflection *  Questions :  How much longer was the way around the wilderness that the Lord took His people through? Did God intend for them to wander in the wilderness that long? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for reminding me that Your ways are incomparably higher than mine. Please forgive me for the times when I complained about not having my way. Please forgive me for the times when I looked for the optimal s...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Do not worship in passing the Passover Lamb... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 12   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (The Lord told Moses to instruct His people, on the tenth day of the month, to prepare and set aside a one-year-old lamb or goat without defect...) 6  You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.   III. Reflection *  Questions :  What was the significance of the four days in the preparation of young lambs or goats before the midnight event in Egypt? What was the significance of the without-defect requirement of the lamb or goat? Why must the people kill the sacrificial animals in the evening before midnight? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that You taught Your people the value of setting things aside to worship You. You want You...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Mingle not companioned Combo... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 11   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (Moses was describing the last plague that was coming at midnight during which all firstborns (human or animals) in Egypt would die...) 7  But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not  even  bark, whether against man or beast, that you may  understand how the  Lord  makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. III. Reflection *  Questions :  Throughout all the plagues, why was the Lord very specific every time about having a distinction between Egypt and Israel?   IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for reminding me that You always know where Your people are and that You expect them to have a division, a separation, and a distinction between them and other people around them. I thank You, Lord Jesus, for taking me to this point t...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Pray for the impossible... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 10   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (The eighth plague came after Pharaoh refused to let God's  people go. And it went away after Pharaoh, as usual, confessed his sin...) 13  So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the  Lord  directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts . . .  19  So the  Lord  shifted  the wind  to a very strong west wind which took up the locusts and drove them into the  Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. III. Reflection *  Questions :  How did the locusts come to and go from the land of Egypt? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that the locusts neither came to nor went away from the land of...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* A louder-than-thunder silence... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 9   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (Pharaoh asked Moses to pray so that the Lord would stop the plague of thunder and hail because Pharaoh said he had sinned and would now let God's people go...) 29  Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the  Lord ; the thunder will cease and there will be hail no longer, that you may know that the earth is the  Lord’s .   30  But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the  Lord  God.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  How many times did Pharaoh already promise to let God's people go and then change his mind when the plague was stopped? Why did Moses, having known this pattern full well, still pray to God to stop the 7th plague? Why did God stop the plague ev...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Division is a must... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 8   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (regarding the fourth plague through which the Lord sent swarms of flies to Pharaoh's houses and all the houses of the Egyptians, The Lord said...) 22  But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the  Lord  in the midst of the earth.   23  Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen. III. Reflection *  Questions : What is the will of the Lord in the above passage? Still the case today? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me Your clear desire then and now--You want to have a clear distinction between Your people and the people of the world. I thank You for letting me know that this distinction will...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Be concerned for others... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 7   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (Disasters struck. Blood was all over the country. Their sacred Nile was turned into a filthy, smelly, deadly place,,,) 22  But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the  Lord  had said.   23  Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house with no concern even for this. III. Reflection *  Questions :  Did it seem odd to see that Pharaoh was happy that his magicians were able to "compete" with God to add more to the destruction of his country? What can be described as Pharaoh's attitude from the above passage? IV. Application : Thank You, Lord God, for showing me that "competing" with You only adds to further destruction, leads to more arrogance, and, as in Pharaoh's case, makes...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* God minds not. He understands... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 6   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (The Lord promised to liberate His people from the bondage of slavery. He promised to give them land for their possession, and then He promised to be their God. The Lord told Moses to relay these messages to His people...) 9 So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage. 10  Now the  Lord  spoke to Moses, saying, 11  “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.”   III. Reflection *  Questions : How did God's people react to God's good news brought to them by Moses? How did God react? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I was under the impression that You would be very angry at Your people and that You would have Moses teach them a harsh le...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Being verbally plain, it's Okay... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 5   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (seeing his people being forced into ever-increasing hard labor, and after he was confronted and assigned blame by his people...) 22  Then Moses returned to the  Lord  and said, “O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me?   23  Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  Being a national treasure and a man very dear to God, what kind of a man was Moses described here in the above passage? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, thank You for showing me a very normal man of Your servant Moses here. You did not hide his raw feelings when He questioned You. You did not hide His frustration when He blamed You....

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* God so loved humans that He abandoned His own Son... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 4   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (The Lord instructed Moses what to say when coming to meet the Egyptian king Pharaoh to request to let God's people go free...) 22  Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the  Lord , “Israel is My son, My firstborn.   23  So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’ III. Reflection *  Questions :  To what extent did God go to show His love for His firstborn Israel? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me how much You loved Your firstborn Israel. You loved Your people so much that when Pharaoh did not let them go free from bondage, You intervened by killing Pharaoh's firstborn and all the firstborns of the entire Egypt nat...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* I am nobody. God is no body... He is the Holy One! I. Click here to READ  Exodus 3   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (The Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh to bring God's people out of Egypt and out of slavery...) 11  But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”   12  He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” III. Reflection *  Questions : What did Moses ask God? What did God answer Moses? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that You heard Moses' question for You about his level compared to the king of Egypt to demand him to do anything. I thank You for showing me that You did not answer Moses' question because it wasn't about him and Pharao...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* God sees everything. Be at peace... I. Click here to READ  Exodus 2   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Moses was born under the strict order of Pharaoh to be killed. So after 3 months when he can no longer be hidden, his mother put him in a basket among the reeds along the riverbank...) 4  And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.   5  Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it.   6  When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took 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 you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”   8  And Pharaoh's dau...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* To be blessed is no secret... I. Click here to READ Exodus 1   first. II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Egypt's king told the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn Hebrew sons but let live the daughters. But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them...) 20  So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong.   21  And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families.   III. Reflection *  Questions : What did fearing God do? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that fearing God brings life to others. Fearing God causes people not to sin against You. Fearing God causes blessings to flow to people. Fearing God causes You to establish families for people. O God! I thank You for bringing me to this point to show me the principle to be blessed ( Ps 34:9 ). It is not a secret! It starts with th...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Guilt-tripping no more... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 50 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (After burying their father in the Promised Land of Canaan as instructed, Joseph and his brothers went back to Egypt...) 15  When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!”   III. Reflection *  Questions :  Why did the brothers keep having a concern that Joseph would pay evil for evil regarding what they did to him years ago? Why did the death of their father make that possible revenge a reality? Did not Joseph forgive them before? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: Thank You for letting me know that the brothers made their guilt much bigger than the generous forgiveness they had received ( Gen 45:4-8 ). Thank You for letting me feel the brothers' terrified m...