READING:
One-year plan: Exodus 19-21, Matthew 21:12-46
Two-year plan: Genesis 35:1-36:19, Matthew 12:9-21
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It surely was amazing. Thunder and lightning. A thick cloud. A loud blast. A mountain enveloped in smoke. A mountain shaking. It must have been awesome, in the literal sense of the word. Don’t miss, though, how the people of God responded as He made Himself known on the mountain:
- “they trembled and stood at a distance” (Exo 20:18)
- “And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was” (Exo 20:21)
Fear gripped the people. To be an unholy people in the presence of a holy God must have been disconcerting at best. But, Moses then explained what God was doing: “God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not sin” (Exo 20:20). The text thus speaks of a relationship between fearing God more and sinning less.
Maybe it would be good if all of us believers asked ourselves this basic question: “Do I really fear God?” Then, follow that introspective question by answering this final question: “If I say I do fear God, then why do I continually fall into sin?”
PERSONAL REFLECTION: How much do you revere God?
PRAYER: “God, my actions don’t always show how much I claim to fear You. Grow my reverence of You, Lord.”
TOMORROW’S READINGS:
One-year plan: Exodus 22-24, Matthew 21:22:1-22
Two-year plan: Genesis 36:20-37:11, Matthew 12:22-37