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1 Chronicles 6:61-7:40  In Your Word, Lord, we read about "a city of refuge" (1 Chronicles 6:67). We take refuge in You, Lord. You are "our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Refuge, strength and help - What great blessings You give to us! Where do we find these blessings? - we find them all in Christ. When "evil" threatens to overwhelm us (1 Chronicles 7:23), we run to Jesus, we are strengthened by Him, and we receive help from Him. what are we to do when You bless us so much? - we are to give all the glory to You. Without You, Lord, we "can do nothing" (John 15:5). With You, we can "do all things" - because you give us the strength that we need.

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus has risen from the dead (Luke 24:6). Death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24). He has triumphed over death – “Where, O death, is your victory? … Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Exodus 37:1-29 Many times over, we read the word, “gold.” We look beyond the furnishings of the place of worship to the God whom we worship. In our hearts, we say, “My God, how wonderful You are.” All that we read of here is pointing us to the great God, the God of glory, the god who is worthy of all praise. Many people place great value on “gold”, but they do not worship God and give glory to Him. How sad it is that so many people place such high value on the things of this world  – and place such little value on the God who created our world. In our world, we must learn to look beyond this world. We must learn to say, “I’d rather have Jesus than riches untold.” The Lord must always be more important to us than anyone or anything else. We must not let “gold” become our “god.” We must look beyond the “gold” to our God.

Exodus 34:1-35 Moses received the Word from the Lord. He brought God’s Word to the people. With God’s Word of grace – “the Lord, a compassionate and merciful God …”, there is also His Word of warning – “He never lets the guilty go unpunished… ” (Exodus 34:6-7). Hearing God’s Word of warning, together with His Word of grace, Moses pleads with God for mercy – “Lord, please go with us … ” (Exodus 34:9). The Lord promises to give His blessing – “I’m making My promise again.” Tis promise of His blessing is accompanied by His call to obedience – “Do everything that I command today” (Exodus 34:11). When Moses came, from God’s presence, to the people, his “face was shining” (Exodus 34:30,35). This was a sign of the power of the Spirit – filling him, giving him strength, equipping him for the work of ministry,

“The skin of Moses’ face shone” (Exodus 34:35). What glory there is in the presence of the Lord! The glory of the Lord was shining upon Moses. The glory of the Lord was shining out from Moses. In the Lord’s presence, there is light . When we come into His presence, we come out of the darkness, and we come into the light. It is the light of His glory . It is the light of His love . It is the glory of His love. This is what changes us. This is what makes us new men and women. How can we remain the same when we have been in the presence of the Lord? Was there something special about Moses? No! There was something special about God. Is there something special about us? No! There’s something special about God. In His presence, everything changes. The things that seemed so important to us are seen in a new light – the light of eternity . They are seen for what they really are. Do these things really matter as much as we thought they did? or Have we been shaped too much by the w...

2 Chronicles 33:1-34:13   Very quickly, Lord, good work can be undone (2 Chronicles 33:1-3). Bad work can be undone - if we will make a new beginning with You (2 Chronicles 34:1-4). Help us, Lord, to make a new beginning with You - and a new beginning for You.

Exodus 24:1-27:21 “The glory of the Lord” (Exodus 24:16-17) – God is to be glorified in all that we do. Symbolic of God’s glory is the frequent reference to “gold” or “pure gold.” God’s glory is to shine brightly among God’s people. If God is to be glorified among us, if our lives are to be like “pure gold”, we must be like “pure virgin olive oil”, keeping our “lamps” burning for Him (Exodus 27:20-21). God will not be glorified if we are not looking to Him to keep our lamps burning for Him – “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning”, “Shine, Jesus, shine. Fill this land with the Father’s glory. Blaze, Spirit, blaze. Set our hearts on fire … ” The blessing we read about here is not simply for those who are already God’s people. It is also for those who will be reached for Christ and won for Him, as the Lord’s people rise to the challenge of carrying Christ to “this land” and to “the nations.”