Author: Scott

You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. Exodus 23:19 I knew that writing through the Old Testament was going to be a challenge as, frankly, it contains a lot of weird commands. What rules do we keep and what rules do we ignore? Are we being hypocritical by dismissing the commands…
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You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. Exodus 23:9 I recently met a young man who struggles in ways that are foreign to me. Though I could sympathize in general with the idea of destructive appetites, as I had no…
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You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3 In the hospital, on my first real world experience in medical school, I followed my doctor around like a puppy. I had no idea where to go or what I was doing. At least I knew that I knew nothing. In my condition, I relied…
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And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. Exodus 16:19-20 At a youth church conference in high school, I heard a young woman lament her repetitive…
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Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: “Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians”? Exodus 14:12 Most of us know the frustration of trying to change. The enthusiasm at the thought of skinny, at the outset of a diet, fades by day two or three, as the hunger sets in…
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What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us? Exodus 14:5 My wife and I were watching a movie recently, when our discussion turned to an actor in the film who, in real life, died of a heroin overdose. He had apparently been sober for some time before his…
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The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Exodus 9:12 I have never liked the thought of destiny. Preferring to believe that I am the master of my own fate, I chafe at the idea that I am not in control. Never mind that I’ve made some pretty disastrous decisions, or, that I felt completely out…
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Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. Exodus 8:8 In my drug addiction, whenever I felt the heat of consequences approaching, I began praying desperately, bargaining with God. God, if you get me out of this,…
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Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. Exodus 6:9 I have another addiction to confess. I love hiking. Vacation, to me, is getting up before dawn and striking out for hours on the trail. On almost every hike though,…
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Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? Exodus 5:22 As it is painful to repent, when we do finally commit to radical obedience, we often expect everything around us to change instantly as well. Though we once dragged…
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