Choose My Blood or The Destroyer

Today's Reading: Exodus 12-13; Acts 1

	Exodus 12:32 (ESV)32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!” Personalize it method (Rick Warren's 40 Days in the Word): Lord please illuminate your Word and reveal it's meaning to me today, amen. See Jeff how Pharaoh now completely surrendered and offered up for Moses to also take the flocks and herds- these he was previously requiring them to leave behind. Pharaoh even asks that Moses bless him! Pharaoh was considered a god (mostly by himself) and yet he humbled himself to ask for blessing that he might not be under God's curse any longer.
	The passover sacrifice...
	Exodus 12:46 (ESV)46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. Jeff, see that my Son was the passover sacrifice that allows me to passover your sin… John 19:33,36 (ESV)33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs…36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” So know that without His blood, you would remain guilty before me and would be eternally separated from me because I am a just God. Be certain to live with this understanding that it is by my grace alone that you have received this salvation, this redemption. There is no room for boasting here, like the Israelites that hid in their homes following my instruction to avoid the destroyer- so should you understand how it is you are saved. You are not responsible…lest you can stand outside and explain yourself to the destroyer! Stop Jeff and picture the angel that I sent (called the destroyer) and see yourself explaining to this angel how you have been so faithful and good and that you should be spared in spite of the fact that you chose not to trust solely in my plan of passover based on the blood of my Son… Exodus 12:23 (ESV)23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.
	You have received the Holy Spirit...
	Acts 1:8 (ESV)8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” See Jeff that the Holy Spirit indwells you for a number of purposes, but one is so that you can be a witness of Jesus and His gospel message. Also note that Jesus had to return to my right hand before I would send my Holy Spirit... John 16:7 (ESV)7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. Jeff, just as I gave the great commission to my disciples, I have given it to you and I trust that you will be faithful. Know that the Holy Spirit will bring recollection of my Word but your part is familiarizing yourself with my Word to begin with. To effectively make disciples, Jeff, you need to study my Word... John 14:26 (ESV)26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Jeff, the Holy Spirit was sent to replace the presence of the Son and you should not lose sight of Him. You need to live with the understanding that I dwell within you… John 14:16–17 (ESV)16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. From the Bible Exposition Commentary- The Holy Spirit abides in the believer. He is a gift from the Father in answer to the prayer of the Son. During His earthly ministry, Jesus had guided, guarded, and taught His disciples; but now He was going to leave them. The Spirit of God would come to them and dwell in them, taking the place of their Master. Jesus called the Spirit “another Comforter,” and the Greek word translated “another” means “another of the same kind.” The Spirit of God is not different from the Son of God, for both are God. The Spirit of God had dwelt with the disciples in the person of Jesus Christ. Now He would dwell in them…The way we treat the Holy Spirit is the way we treat the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer’s body is the temple of the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19–20), so what he or she does with that body affects the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit wrote the Word of God, and the way we treat the Bible is the way we treat the Spirit of God and the Son of God. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 14:16). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
	God gives direction before sending His indwelling Spirit...
	Jeff, notice that the disciples replaced Judas by casting lots (rolling dice) to decide between the potential replacements. Recall that I am sovereign and that nothing is our of my control- dice included. Jeff, you will need to pray and study my Word to determine if this suggestion that I will reveal my will through such means is applicable today or not. Remember that you now have my Holy Spirit, which did not yet indwell the disciples as they awaited His coming... Acts 1:21–26 (ESV)21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
	Application and Prayer:
	• Today I will not face the destroyer Lord, but I will trust completely in your blood for my redemption. • Today I will humble myself before you Lord. • Today I will be thankful that you allowed for this passover and you sent your own Son as this sacrifice. • Today Lord I will seek to warn those that remain in the streets not understanding that the destroyer is coming. My goals can wait a few minutes while I pull them into the house. • Today Lord I will walk with the understanding that your Spirit lives in me and He wants to guide me and to bring your Word to the front of my mind. Thank you Lord for your wonderful Word that I have full access to anytime I chose. Thank you for revealing yourself to me here in so many ways. Please let me never again lose the passion to study your Word and understand what it is you want of me Lord. Please help me to keep my eyes on you and Humble myself. Please let me dwell on the love you showed on the cross and may I be thankful that I am not left to explain myself to the destroyer. Please bring your Word forth in my mind when I need encouragement, guidance, or just to worship you and to live in constant communion with you Lord. Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit! In Jesus name I pray, amen. Soli Deo Gloria! View blog from a computer or iPad for more content. Follow @dailysurrender