Today’s reading includes Exodus 28:1-43, Matthew 25:31-26:13, Psalm 31:9-18, Proverbs 8:12-13.

Yesterday we looked at the repetitive symbols of colors in our current readings.  We talked first of the color blue used in the curtains of the tabernacle and the robes of the priests.  The color blue represents heavenly things.  It can also represent the sky, heaven itself, holiness, and the Holy Spirit.  Another of the prominent colors displayed in the building of the tabernacle and the robes of the priests was the color purple.  This color was the most precious of ancient dyes made from a shellfish found in the Mediterranean Sea. A total of 250,000 mollusks (or more!) was required to make one ounce of the dye, which partly accounts for its great price. It was highly valued within the nation of Israel.

The color purple symbolizes kingship and royalty.  At times in ancient history, this color was banned from common use and was only allowed for royal family.  We all can picture kings in purple robes, which announced the prestige and authority of their position.  The color purple was used in several features of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:1, 27:16) and the temple (II Chronicles 2:14); the color of royal robes (Judges 8:26); the garments of the wealthy (Proverbs 31:22; Luke 16:19); the clothing of a harlot (Revelation 17:4); and the robe placed on Jesus (Mark 15:17, 20).

It occurred to me that the purple in the curtains and in the priests clothing represented two things, which still apply to us.  First, they pointed to the King of kings.  The purple was a reminder that they served a king—The King.  Secondly, it pointed to the fact that because they belonged to the King—were children of the King—they, too, were royalty.  And so, as children of God, we too must remember His royalty and realize our own.

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

                                                                                                            I Peter 2:9-10 NIV

I love to read this verse in several different translations.  Here are a few of my favorites:

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,^f a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

“Once you had no identity as a people;

now you are God’s people.

Once you received no mercy;

now you have received God’s mercy.”^g

                                                                                    1 Peter 2:9-10 NLT

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

                                                                                      1 Peter 2:9, BSB

9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

                                                                                        1 Peter 2:9-10, ESV

There is only one reason we are chosen as royalty, and that is to proclaim to others the goodness of God, to proclaim the excellencies and virtues of Him who has called us.  We often live as spiritual paupers when our true identity is as a prince or princess.  We are made a prince or princess so that we may proclaim His goodness and point others to the King of kings.

Notice that neither the robes of the priests, nor of the people were solid purple.  There was a smathering of purple. My interpretation of that is one that we can remember every day.  We are not the big deal, He is the big deal.  We are not the king of our life, He is.  We are not the famous ones, He is the famous One—and we proclaim His fame to others that they may become royalty, too.

In Mark 15 we see that Jesus was mocked when a purple robe was placed on Him.

16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. 18 Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

The intent of the soldiers was to mock, to ridicule, to taunt.  But in reality they were proclaiming who He really is.  He wore the mocking robe so we would not have to.  And this sacrifice for the love of His people showed His greatest authority, His greatest strength, His greatest power.  He is the King of all kings.  He could wear the full purple robe, we can only wear a smattering of purple, which points to Him.

Today, know who you are and Whose you are.  Don’t ask like a pauper. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a royal priesthood.  Bravely dress in a the spiritual robe sprinkled with purple and point to the Only One worthy of wearing a purple robe.

Today’s reading includes Exodus 26:1-27:21, Matthew 25:1-30, Psalm 31:1-8, Proverbs 8:1-11.

One word comes to mind as I read today’s text.  The word is “details”.  Our God is a God of details.  We need not fret over the details of life, for He has it all determined exactly the way it should be.  We must trust Him in these details.  He is not only our Creator, but His creativity continues through the details of the world and the details of our lives.

Because He is a creative God of details, He uses patterns throughout His words.  If you stay alert to the patterns, the scripture will have a deeper meaning and your understanding will deepen, as well.  We have already seen the patterns of the holy numbers, especially three, seven, twelve, and forty.  And hopefully, recognizing these numbers has caused you to pause and think about the deeper meaning when those numbers are revealed.  God uses repetition in other ways, not just in the use of numbers.  When you see reoccurring descriptions, you may want to pay attention.  For example, think of all the colors which were repeated in Exodus when you read about the building of the tabernacle.

Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker.

                                                                                                Exodus 26:1

Over and over, God instructed those working on the embroidery on the curtains, as well as the clothing of the priests to use blue, purple, and scarlet.  Today, let’s look at the color blue.

Blue is a color which represents heavenly things.  It describes the sky, heaven, and the Holy Spirit.  When you see blue mentioned in the scriptures, pause and ask God what the deeper meaning is in His color choice.  Color often plays a great, yet subtle role in the symbolic meaning of the passage.  We see this in today’s reading and as you go forward in the scriptures you will continue to notice this repetition. In Numbers 15:37-38 we find:

37 Then the Lord said to Moses, 38 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: Throughout the generations to come you must make tassels for the hems of your clothing and attach them with a blue cord. 39 When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the Lord instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do.

The purpose of the blue cord was for them to be reminded of heavenly, holy things.  This world is not our home.  We should not be carnally minded, but spiritually minded.  We should offer ourselves each day to the Lord for the renewing of our minds, for the grace to think differently, see differently.  But sometimes we need a reminder.  The blue cord reminded them to think of heavenly and holy things—to think of the Holy One who sits on His holy throne in heaven.

Tomorrow we will talk of another one of the colors, but I want you to notice in the coming chapters that most of the colors are used in conjunction with and to compliment the other.  The common colors in the building of the tabernacle were blue, purple, and scarlet.  Contrast those colors to what we read in Revelation 17:3-4.

3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.

Look at the details describing this vile symbolic woman.  What colors are mentioned?  Purple and scarlet.  What color is missing?  The color blue is absent.  This evil woman has the affluence of purple and she has the blood of the scarlet, which could represent her own sins or the blood she caused others to shed.  But she is missing the blue.  These colors attached to her were missing the holy and heavenly component.  This was evil, not holy.  Some scholars believe this reference of the two colors represents that affluence of the woman was obtained by evil means, not through the blessing of the Lord.

So, we can be encouraged at the creative, detailed traits of our mighty God.  Today, look about you.  Notice the details of the world around you.  Thank the Creator for these details and ask Him for wisdom in understanding.

Today’s reading includes Exodus 23:14-25:40, Matthew 24:29-51, Psalm 30:1-12, Proverbs 7:24-27

Yesterday’s reading included lots of “don’ts”. Don’t follow the crowd in doing wrong.  Don’t deny justice to your poor in their lawsuits.  Don’t accept a bribe.  And on and on and on.  Those who are skeptical may think, “Yep.  Here it comes.  Just as I thought.  Christianity is a set of rules and regulations of which I want no part.”  And the truth is, Christianity does have rules and regulations, or rather boundaries.  But boundaries are good things.  Boundaries create stability and banish confusion.  Boundaries create peace in place of disorder.  Boundaries actually satisfy our souls when we understand their purpose.  But if we think that God is just a God of “don’ts”, we don’t know Him very well.  In fact, keep reading in today’s passages and we find that God is a God of “do’s”.  Yes, many of the “do’s” are obligations, but many of the “do’s” are celebrations.  Our God is a God of celebration–  Or, to borrow the title of Tony Campolo’s book, the kingdom of God is a party.

In Exodus 23:14-19 we are introduced to three annual festivals that God said to celebrate: The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of the Harvest, and the Feast of the Ingathering.

When we get to Leviticus we will find out more details about these feasts and what they required and what they represented.  But today, I want to focus on the fact that God set these special days up as a lasting ordinance.  The feasts were about celebration.  The feasts were about remembering.  And the feasts were about looking forward.  It is significant that God called for feasts and fasts and celebration throughout the year.  There are Jewish holidays in the winter, spring, summer, and fall.  Some are somber, but all are celebratory.  So, our take away is that no matter the day, no matter the season, the matter the dark days, no matter the days filled with light and love and joy. No matter what has happened, no matter what will happen … joy comes in the morning. A celebration is right around the corner.  And through the knowledge of these days, we, too, can celebrate, remember, and look forward to the great things He has in store for us.  And, even more importantly, we can share our spirit of celebration with those around us.

When I was living in Costa Rica as a missionary, we held weekly Bible School events in a very poor refugee camp called Los Guidos.  After one of our Saturday Bible Schools, we found ourselves in the home of a precious lady named Alicia.  When she walked with her children to the great big tree in the center of sector 8, where we held our weekly program, she pulled me aside to invite us to come to her house after Bible school.  We gladly accepted the invitation, although I must confess that I was a bit nervous.  We did not know the lady very well, and at that point, we had never been invited to enter any of the dilapidated shacks, which covered the mountainside.

As soon as all of the other children had walked back to their own homes, we walked to Alicia’s home with her 3 children.  My eyes had to adjust a bit when we first entered the dirt-floor dwelling.  There was no electricity, so therefore the only light was from the doorway, and from a “window” which had been cut from the tin and wood-scrap walls.  The home was just one room, which was partitioned by sheets hanging across rope, which was attached to the ceiling.

Alicia excitedly welcomed us to her home.  I noticed that the dirt floor had been neatly swept, and all of her meager belongings were in order.  On the table, I noticed several broken glasses from several different patterns, a small plate full of saltine crackers, and a chipped pitcher of lemonade.  There were no chairs for us to sit, so we simply stood around the table and listened while she talked of her life and her love for the Lord.  Such sweet fellowship of believers we experienced that day!  She offered us the crackers and lemonade, which we received with a gratitude that had nothing to do with what was offered.  I was overcome with her pure hospitality.  Although we had been repeatedly warned against eating or drinking in that area, I took what was offered, and silently prayed the prayer that my missionary friend, Ben Pierce, had once shared with me: “Lord, I’ll get it down, if You keep it down!”

When we were thanking her for her invitation and hospitality, she joyfully responded, “Este es mi fiesta!”, “This is my party!”  A party given in honor of us. A party given with grace and elegance, yes elegance, despite the resources that she had to work with.  Such pure hospitality and generosity I have rarely, if ever, seen since that day.  And such conviction it brought to my soul.

How many times do I resist reaching out to others because my house is not perfect, or my dishes don’t match, or I don’t have time to create an extravagant meal?  And how many times do my guests leave my house feeling the joy of being honored, and the warmth of sweet fellowship.  After that day in Los Guidos, I am without excuses.  I need to share my “party”.  The kingdom of God is a party, to be shared by all with whom we are privileged to come in contact.  And scripture tells us that when we do it for “the least of these”, we do it unto Him. So whenever you reach out to anyone with a pure, loving heart, you are reaching up to Jesus. And that shows extravagant love for Him.

 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

                                                                                                            1 Peter 4:8-10

Today’s reading is Exodus 21:22-23:13, Matthew 24:1-28, Psalm 29:1-11, and Proverbs 7:6-23.

My thoughts, however, are still in Exodus 21.  The ten commandments had been given, and then other instructions were also given.  The ten commandments are applicable for our life today.  The next instructions had a lot of significance for the ancient times and customs.  And yet, they are still applicable for today. We just need to dig a little deeper and find the meaning behind the commandment, even if the details are not applicable in our current society.  For example, the first one mentioned in Chapter 21 refers to how one should treat his slaves.  Thankfully, slavery is no longer applicable to our current society, though, sadly, there are still forms of it in existence.  So, maybe the details of releasing a slave does not refer to our current life, however, if we dig a bit deeper, we can find a rich, spiritual application.

But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’  If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.

                                                                                    Exodus 21:5-6, NLT

Oddly enough, this is one of my most favorite passages.  When I first read it, I was in a time of deep spiritual growth.  I was being stretched and tested.  I had come to that precious place of surrender.  And during that time of surrender, I was introduced to a little tune based on this passage of scripture.  I remember where I was when I first heard it.  I was on a van in the middle of nowhere in Costa Rica.  I had been a missionary there for the past six months and an American team had come to visit for a week.  It was refreshing to my soul.  The leader was a dear friend and mentor, and while we were on a bumpy ride up the mountain, he sang the little jingle and told us about the verses it was based upon.  And the words spoke volumes of what my soul was feeling.  These were the lyrics:

Pierce my ear, O Lord, my God.

Take me to Your door this day.

I will serve no other God.

Lord, I’m here to stay.

Jesus is called the Great Shepherd and we are the sheep of His pasture.  So many lessons can be learned by studying the habits of sheep and shepherds.  Sheep are marked on the ear with the distinct mark of their shepherd. In Exodus 21: 2, we find a reflection of this distinct marking.  In the Sabbath year, which happened every seven years (notice that holy number!), all the slaves were set free.  But if a slave loved his master and wanted to stay with him forever, he would ask to be a slave for life.  The master would then take him to the doorpost and place his ear against the doorpost and with a sharp instrument, the master would pierce his ear, marking him forever as belonging to the master.

We have just studied of another blood on the doorpost.  The lamb whose blood was shed and placed on the doorpost so death would pass over.  And this led to freedom for the slaves.  Of course, this represented the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, the only One who can conqueror death.  But it is a great and humble privilege that we can say, “Here am I, Lord! May my blood be added to the doorpost.  May I be a slave sleep forever aligned to the Great Shepherd.”

Do you have the distinct mark of the great Shepherd?  You have been bought with a great price, the blood of the Shepherd, who was willing to die for his sheep.  Do you belong to him?  If not, consider now what it would mean to surrender wholly and fully to Him.

Today, I thought I would give you a sneak preview of a new book I have written.  It is a fairy tale, really.  But it is based upon scriptural truths. It is not quite finished, but Chapter Six is applicable to today’s reading.  The book is an allegory about a young slave girl and her relationship with the King who set her free.  The name of the King is Tetelestai, which is a Greek word meaning, “It is finished” or “Fully Paid”.  The young slave girl is named Martus, which is a Greek word meaning, “A witness”.   I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Six

Twenty-four hours seemed to both fly by and, at the same time, pass at a snail’s pace.  But then it was time.  Martus  made her way quickly, but quietly, to the Great Hall.  King Tetelestai was there alone.  He smiled as she entered, calming her nerves.  However, though the smile was genuine, he had a seriousness about him that had not been present in the garden.  This seriousness did not scare her, but rather, caused her to be alert and at attention.  She came closer to the King before either of them spoke.  He was the first to greet.

“Welcome, my girl.  I knew you would come.  I am all ready for you.  Are you ready, my Martus?”

“Yes, sir, I am ready.”

“Well, let us begin.”   With that, the King reached into the deep pockets of his robe and brought forth another scroll.  This brought the memory of the other scroll to her mind, and Martus felt thankful that today was today and not yesterday, or yestermonth, or yesteryear.  Today was today.  Today was the day.  And she felt no fear.

The King cleared his throat and then began to read the following decree:

This day you will become a Gatherer.  You will gather my children—not flesh of my flesh children, but soul of my soul and spirit of my spirit children.  Some are in deep dark places and they think I have forgotten and forsaken them.  I haven’t.  Find my children and tell them:  I am coming soon for them.  In time, maybe time and a half, and then I will come and take them out of the dark places and carry them to the high places, filled with light.  But tell them to remember until then, they are not forgotten, they are not alone.

            Others, too, are my spirit of my spirit and soul of my soul children; they just don’t know it yet.  They need someone to bring that truth to their attention.  It is not your responsibility what they do with the truth.  You simply must state the truth.  It is yours to hold out, not yours to force.  It is yours to extend, not yours to apply.  They must receive.  And they will, in time.  Maybe time and a half.

            Gather my children.  Show them truth.  Be strong.  Be courageous.  Remember.  And Go in peace, for you are not alone.

“Do you, my girl, have anything to say—or to sing?” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Yes, my King, I have a new song for you.  Would you like to hear it now?”

“Oh, yes!  Please sing!”

And with that the girl began to hum a beautiful tune, which was both joyful and serious.   And then she added words to her joyful noise.  This is what she sang:

“Pierce my ear,

Oh my great king.

Put in place

Your royal ring.

So all may know

And all may see.

Always, only,

I serve thee.”

Martus sang this simple verse through several times. Each time her voice grew stronger and lovelier.  As she finished the last note, she looked at the King and saw great pleasure in his face.  And she felt great pleasure in her heart, as well.

“Perfect, my girl!  That was beautiful and perfect!  Thank you!”

And without another word, the King brought a small knife with a very pointed tip out of his great pocket.  He took her hand and led her to the doorpost of the great hall.  Gently, he placed his hand on her head and turned it slightly to the right.  His gentle hand then pressed the lobe of her left ear flat against the doorpost.

Martus quickly closed her eyes tightly shut and clenched her teeth and pressed her fingernails into the palm of her hand, hoping that the pain of that gesture would lessen the pain of the piercing.

The King lifted the sharp, pointed knife and brought it close to Martus’ ear.  With one swift motion, the king pierced her ear.  Blood began to trickle down her neck and she felt the warm sticky moisture of it.  Tears burned her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away, although a lone tear found its way out of her left eye and began to fall slowly down her left cheek.

The King then took a cloth from his deep pocket and gently wiped the blood from her neck and with the cloth in hand placed gentle pressure on the wound until the bleeding stopped.  He then wiped the knife clean and placed both the cloth and the knife back into his great pocket.  Then, reaching into his other pocket, he pulled out a beautiful velvet box.   In one hand, he held the velvet box, close to her face for her to see.  With the other hand, he gently wiped the lone tear away until her face was free of the salty tear.

He then opened the velvet box to reveal a simple, yet elegant, diamond earring.  It lay in a gold setting.  The King lifted the earring from the velvet box, then with one hand closed the box on its hinge and slipped it back into his great pocket.  With both hands, he then placed the diamond earring into her newly pierced ear.

Martus felt a dull throbbing in her ear, but she didn’t mind.  The worst part was over, and she felt happy and peaceful and content.  The king once again cleared his throat and said in a loud voice the following words:

“Diamonds are the most solid and durable gem.  Let this be a reminder of how solid and durable is my love for you and my confidence in you.

The gold surrounding the diamond is pure and beautiful.  It has been tested in the great furnace of the castle and shaped to perfectly surround the diamond, which was chosen just for you.  May this be a reminder, that though the road may not always be easy, though at times it may feel as if you are walking through a refining fire, it is right for you to walk in it.  This journey will bring out your purity and beauty, as well.

My Martus, you are now a Gatherer.  You are in the company of many great ones, fellow Gatherers who have all had their Day of Piercing.”

With that last sentence, Martus heard a great stirring and shuffling of chairs and feet.  And both she and the king looked up, he with a great smile, she with a look of surprise.  All around the great hall rose many fellow Gatherers, all identified with a unique diamond earring in their left ear.  There were old ones, and young ones.  There were large ones, and small ones.  There were ones with dark, ebony skin and those with caramel colored tones.  There were those with fair complexions, dotted with freckles, and those with olive colored skin.  But all had an earring.  All shared the common status of Gatherer.  And when all had risen from their chairs, which had moments ago been concealed by the great stone railing, a thunderous applause filled the Great Hall.  There was clapping and cheering and laughing and other sounds of great joy.  The surprised look on Martus’ face then turned to a great smile, which lit up her whole face.

Then the King raised his hand, and everyone grew silent once again.  The King looked at Martus,and then back at the other Gatherers.  He then said in a loud voice, “Martus will begin her first Journey tomorrow.  But tonight, we celebrate!”

They all moved into the largest dining room in the castle.  A feast was already prepared.  The celebration lasted well into the night, with all feasting and laughing and having a grand time, especially Martus.  And the King never left her side.

Today’s reading is Exodus 19:16-21:21, Matthew 23:13-39, Psalm 28:1-9, and Proverbs 7:1-5.

The reading in Exodus begins with a loud noise.  A great thunder. A set of instructions that demanded a response.  A thundering voice to signify its importance.  It was the voice of God.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit whispers silent words of comfort and encouragement.  In those times we must be still and know that He is God.  Other times the voice of God is like thunder and lightning and that requires diligent listening as well as response.  And what did the thundering voice say?  Heed my commands.

In chapter twenty, the first verse, we see a small word with a significance that we must not overlook.

And God spoke all these words.

                                                                                                Exodus 20:1, NIV

What is the small word to which I am referring?  All.  Three little letters packed with significance.  God spoke all these words.  And if he spoke all of them, and that fact was emphasized, then each word should be taken to heart.

What were these words?  The ten commandments.  The ten rules of living, which have served countless believers for countless generations.  When something of significance is about to be said, it is usually prefaced with an important statement; an introduction.  God’s introduction, after the great thunder, and  was a repeat of what He originally told Moses.  I am.  He said, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

He said, “I am…”  Not I was.  Not I will be.  But I am.  And that “I am” has never changed.  He has never changed.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

When Moses was called to go to God’s people in Egypt, his doubt was great.  But in the midst of his doubt and fear, the name of God, the very nature of God was revealed.

13But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

14God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” 15God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh,^e the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.

This is my eternal name,

my name to remember for all generations.

                                                                                                                 Exodus 3:13-14

According to Matthew Henry, “The years of the life of Moses are divided into three forties; the first forty he spent as a prince in Pharaoh’s court, the second as a shepherd in Midian, the third as a king in Jeshurun.”

Remember that holy number forty?  Forty years as a prince, forty as a shepherd, forty as a king.  Forty is preparation for the extraordinary.  It seems that each significant part of the life of Moses was a progressive reflection of Jesus.  Jesus, the holy Son of God, the Prince of Peace, who enters the Bible as royalty in heaven as we see glimpses of Him throughout the Old Testament.  Jesus, who came to earth as the Great Shepherd sent to gather His lost and hurting sheep.  Jesus, who is the King of all kings, whose rule will never end.

God told Moses that He was the great I AM.

C. Kingsley had this to say in his sermon entitled, “God, the Great I Am”.

If I say “I am,” I say what is not true of me. I must say “I am something — I am a man, I am bad, or I am good, or I am an Englishman, I am a soldier, I am a sailor, I am a clergyman.” — and then I shall say what is true of me. But God alone can say “I AM” without saying anything more. And why? Because God alone is. Everybody and everything else in the world becomes: but God is. We are all becoming something from our birth to our death — changing continually and becoming something different from what we were a minute before; first of all we were created and made, and so became men; and since that we have been every moment changing, becoming older, becoming wiser, or alas! foolisher; becoming stronger or weaker; becoming better or worse. Even our bodies are changing and becoming different day by day. But God never changes or becomes anything different from what He is now. What He is, that He was, and ever will be.

He is I Am.  And when He introduced His ten great commandments with the reminder of “I am…” it tells us that what He meant then, He means now.  When was the last time you reflected on the ten commandments?  It has certainly been a while for me.  Today, let’s read them again.  And maybe again and again.  Today, why not read them aloud?  Why not ask the Lord if there are any that you may need to renew in your own heart?  And I will do the same.

And God spoke all these words:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.

  Exodus 20:1-18

One last thought …  When the people heard the Thundering Voice say the thundering words, they were trembling with fear.  We talk so much of God’s love and grace and forgiveness.  And yes, we should.  It is who He is.  But who He is, is also holy.  And we can’t forget that.  Yes, we, through the blood of Jesus, can come boldly to the throne of grace.  But we can’t forget that it is a throne.  And the One on the throne demands great respect, always.