Cross Of Grace

Here in Exodus 24 we see an amazing thing: the God of the universe comes near and invites men to enter into covenant with Him, and then they sit and eat in His presence. The gift wasn’t the meal. The gift was God’s presence, His approval, His acceptance and invitation to a sinful people to be in covenant with Him. To call them friends.

We all know the feeling: Constantly running on empty, feeling like you’re just one more obligation away from burnout, and one more crisis away from collapse. But our weariness can often be a gift from God, reminding us that we are connected to the wrong source. The remedy is not trying harder, but being a branch connected to the Vine.

These chapters in Exodus (20-23) are called “The Book of the Covenant”. Here, God is instructing His people what it looks like to live out His covenant law in different situations of everyday life. In the Ten Commandments, God’s law is spoken. Now, we will see God’s law applied.

We often say to ourselves, “If I only had this one thing, if only this situation was different, then I could be happy.” But whatever that thing is, it has the potential of being an idol. You could be putting your hope or your desire into something you don’t have while forgetting what you do have. The remedy is finding true contentment in Christ. Here's how...

“A false witness lies about what he hasn’t seen. A silent witness stays quiet about what he has seen. We are called to be faithful witnesses, to courageously tell others who Christ is and what He has done for us.”

In his application of the OT Law, Jesus often showed that behind a simple prohibition like "You shall not steal" is a matter of the heart. In contrast to theft, scripture shows that because God established a pattern of work and rest, we are to follow suit. Stealing disrupts that pattern. Ultimately, we rest in Jesus' finished work on our behalf, which frees us to do good work.

The transformation from caterpillar to butterfly is a radical change. When Jesus came he fulfilled the OT law covenant. He transformed the 7th commandment, expanding and internalizing it. Whoever even looks with lust commits adultery in their hearts. Jesus calls us to radical obedience. Hell is at stake. But there is hope for the adulterer

The Sixth Commandment reminds us that God is the God of life. He made man in His own image, and that image should be valued and protected. Surrounded by a culture of death, you and I need to be reminded often of the gift of life, and even more, the One who gave His life for us...

The first four commandments are vertical, focusing on man’s relationship with God. The remaining six commands are horizontal, dealing with how we relate to one another. And the very first command where God instructs us on how to relate to one another has to do with children and parents. That’s because the family is the foundation of every other relationship, and ever aspect of society.

Is it a sin for Christians to work on Sunday? How is Jesus the fulfillment of our Sabbath rest? The Fourth Commandment teaches us more than we realize.

The third commandment tells us not to take the LORD's name in vain. That means much more than just watching our language and not using God's name in our curse words. It means having a heart that has been changed by Christ and growing in the desire to honor the name of Christ in every way possible.

In the second commandment, we are reminded that God wants us to worship Him without having to see Him or any image that depicts Him. Our faith is in who He is, as He has revealed Himself in Scripture, not in some image or idol or statue or painting.

Our hearts are often noisy and crowded, with something or someone competing for our affection, our attention, our allegiance, our pursuit, our trust, and our worship. But there’s only room for one ruler of our hearts, and that’s God Himself...

It would be hard to find another section of literature of any kind that has had as big of an impact on mankind and modern society greater than the impact the Ten Commandments have had. Also known as the Decalogue, or “Ten Words” in Hebrew, the Ten Commandments hold a unique place of prominence in human history, not only for what they meant to the Hebrew people at Mt. Sinai, but also what they mean in the life of the Christian today.

Israel has now come to Mount Sinai, the Mountain of God, and it is moment of preparation for them to receive God’s covenantal words, formalizing their relationship with the Lord, and affirm that they will serve him alone.

It is the death of an organization when it depends on just one person. It will either inflate a man’s ego, or it will crush his soul. Unshared burdens destroy people, but responsibilities that are shared grow humility and bring glory to God...

"Jesus, the Sovereign Lord and King we belong to, flies His banner over us, reminding us we belong to Him, we are part of His kingdom, and the spiritual battles we fight in this life, we fight with His strength, with His power, and with His authority. And He is undefeated."

"The rock is struck, water comes out, and God’s people are saved (Exodus 17:1-7). Like Moses, Jesus stood before the angry mob, received false accusations, had false charges leveled against Him, put on trial by sinful men. But unlike Moses, Jesus was given the death penalty by those deserving death themselves. And from that Rock, we are saved."

The Resurrection of Jesus is not just an isolated event. It changed everything. And it is also a signpost to help us remember what we can so easily forget: what Jesus said, who Jesus is, and who we are in Him…

As we prepare for Passion Week, we take a look at each day that leads up to the cross, what Jesus taught, what He endured, and why it matters to us today.