I’m not great at remembering. My iPhone tells me where I need to be and when. It tells me when my deadlines are, and I’ve even programmed it to give me several “your important something is coming up” pings so that I can hit the deadline snooze button a few times. But, remember from my brain? No. Not good at it.
If someone says, “What did you do yesterday?” I almost always genuinely do not know. Call it living in the moment, getting older, or whatever—it’s a struggle. And it carries into my prayer life.
And that’s sad because one of my favorite things about being a child of God is experiencing answered prayers. When I pray with specificity and see my Father work in those details, there’s nothing like it. I remember that He is real, and He is with me. But, sometimes I forget!
So, last year, I started something new with my kids. I bought plastic index card boxes and index cards, and we started recording our prayer requests—one per card. We go through the cards every so often and if a prayer has been answered, we fold it and put it in the back of the box. It has already been incredible, looking back and remembering all that God has done in our lives.
In today’s reading, we got to look at one of the most powerful acts of God in the lives of His people. The Israelites witnessed God, their Rescuer, afflicting the Egyptian people with all sorts of plagues. Then, the worst of them all—death of the firstborn sons. God instructed the people to rub the blood of a spotless lamb on their doorposts in order to be passed over. We know that this foreshadowed the blood of Jesus, so that we could be passed over by judgment.
It’s beautiful and true and our Bibles are a little like a giant plastic prayer box. The answer to our deepest longings and most desperate prayers is Jesus. As we read the Bible we remember all the ways we need Jesus and all the things He has and is accomplishing for us. We can look back and thank God that because of Him, we are rescued. Because of Him, we have peace. Because of Him the sting of death passes us over and we look forward to eternity in heaven.
I’m not great at remembering, and neither were God’s people. But, I’m so thankful we have so many reminders, so many gifts that point us to our Redeemer and remind us how loved and whole and safe we are in Him.
I love the foreshadowing that is shown through these verses. How great it is to read verses years before Jesus even came. I found myself reading the word “forever” again and again in the passages in exodus. “You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statue forever, you shall keep it as a feast.” I found myself thinking what should we be doing forever? Then remembered once again that we don’t have to do certain things that we would’ve had to do, if we did not have Jesus. BUT we do have Jesus, and he shed his blood for us that we may be covered, our sins, would be covered, forever. We are now saved by grace through faith and Jesus + nothing = everything. He is the reason we can go through each and every day looking or to ourselves but to him for our righteousness and goodness. It is no longer up to us and there is such a freedom in that. Not to do what we want and take his grace for granted, but to fall in love with his sacrifice and his deep love for us which drives us into ultimate following and seeking after him.
I was struck by the three days of darkness. I don’t know if it correlates to 3 days in the tomb, but that’s where I went with it.
The notes in my Bible say that every firstborn child of the Egyptians died, but the Israelite children were spared because of the blood of the lamb placed on the doorways. Redemption! A bit further down the notes say that we must recognize that if we want to be freed from the deadly consequences of our sins, a tremendous price must be paid. But, we don’t have to pay it. May I add, we can’t pay it. Jesus Christ, died as our substitute and has already redeemed us by His death on the cross. Hallelujah! May we always be astounded and amazed by this. May this bring us to tears at times and to songs of joy at other times. May we fall to our knees at times or humbly give thanks or sing praises. He is worthy of it all! The Blood of Jesus will never loose its power! Thank You, Lord for your grace, mercy, and Your plan of redemption. Thank You, Jesus for paying a price that we never could to make a way. There would be no hope without Your obedience and Your shed Blood. May all we know, by Your mercy be drawn to repentance and salvation and praise You now and throughout eternity. Amen
I love the symbolism and everything to do with Passover. We were passed over for death and given new life! He is so good!
I love this eternal reminder of protection through the blood of Jesus. So many times in exodus God makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites, but this last one is supposed to show His power and love more than others, as long as the people are obedient – which we all know was a challenge for them and can be a challenge for us. But look at the miracles that ensue when we are.
When the Israelites heard how the Lord would finally deliver them from the Egyptians, they responded in the same way that they had when they first heard Moses & Aaron speak of God’s deliverance — they knelt low & worshipped the Lord. What is my response when I dwell upon Christ’s sacrifice for me? His sacrifice has allowed God to pass over me and not judge me for my sins as I deserve. Jesus’s death allows God to show me grace & mercy. Do I respond by removing the impurity from my life and worshipping God alone in spirit & in truth; or, do I harden my heart and continue to go my own way, doing everything my heart desires? Lord God, forgive me for taking Your salvation for granted. May I always respond to You as I first did when I was first saved. Restore to me the wonder of Your salvation. You truly are the Wonderful One. The God is full of wonders and performs wonders for all to see. Open my eyes to see Your hand at work. Open my heart to worship You. Amen!
“So the people knelt low and worshiped.” May I not just remember, but may God’s Greatness move my heart towards deeper worship of Him.
@Michelle Patire, I too have a Jewish friend and her family that I just prayed for. Her name is Myrna. She was a coworker, but she retired and moved away to be closer to her grandchildren. My daughters both had Jewish friends in school. One of the other families have the last name Lichner or Linder. I don’t remember theother families last names, but this reminds me to pray for their salvation too. Thank you. I would appreciate prayers for all these families to see that Jesus is the only Way and to be saved.