Saying yes to God

fruitful

Saying yes to God

February 15, 2024 • Helen Scamman • Exodus 1:15–22

Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read Exodus 1:15-22 (use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible).

‘But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.' Exodus 1:17

Most of us find the suffering of children incredibly hard to accept, whether we see that close at home, or on our screens in countries far away. Here, as so often, it is those who are the very youngest who suffer the most from a harsh and brutal regime.

What a terrible task to be given to midwives, whose mission was to protect life at its most fragile and vulnerable. And yet from somewhere, these ordinary women find extraordinary courage to dare to do something different. How is that? It is because buried in this passage, there is a key phrase: ‘The midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them….’ (v.17).

What does it mean to fear God? Throughout the Bible we are constantly and wonderfully reminded ‘do not be afraid’. And yet here, it seems that fear is a positive factor. This kind of fear is about revering God above everything… it’s having a greater loyalty, knowing that most important of all is putting God first… saying ‘yes’ to Him, which may mean saying ‘no’ to others.

The midwives were given a very clear command by a brutal dictator, and yet they had a greater loyalty. They recognised that whatever others wanted them to do, and however powerful those people might be, they were first of all going to serve their God no matter what. As they did so, their courage and integrity were rewarded.

This may seem a million miles away from your situation or mine. However, as we begin the season of Lent, it is worth considering, what it might mean to you to give your greatest loyalty to God. What would that mean for your ambition, your money, your time, and the choices you make in your life? Would saying ‘yes’ to God mean saying ‘no’ to someone or something else?

For us, living in the fear of the Lord may mean we make sacrifices and face tricky choices. For other Christians throughout the world, living in the fear of the Lord may involve the threat of persecution or death. Let’s commit to pray for them.

Let us pray: Lord God, show us what it means to be faithful to you in all we do and say. Help us to remember in prayer all those whose faith in you puts them in danger. Amen.

The Revd Helen Scamman, Start of Ministry Officer

PREFACE

Bishop Philip North

PREFACE Has a greater story ever been told? Exodus has all the ingredients. A flawed hero in Moses. An arch-baddie in Pharaoh. The appalling injustice of slavery. The vivid horrors of the plagues. The jeopardy of a last minute escape. The hyper-real psycho-drama of the wilderness. The promise of a glorious freedom. What more could you want? Well there’s much more! As you read through this wonderful book, look out for the following. The Story of God’s Covenant From start to finish, Exodus shows us God’s faithfulness to His people. He is with them in slavery and raises up the leader whose unique mix of qualities and experience He will use to set them free. He sees off mighty Pharaoh and rescues His people in the Sea. He shows them through the Ten Commandments how to live and, when again and again they fail and fall into sin, He does not give up on them. As you read, see yourself in those struggling Israelites. In the twenty first century, it can be hard for us to go on being faithful, faced with the mighty pharaohs of secularism, materialism and greed. We too can easily drift off into sin and mistrust, doubting the presence of God or His work in our lives. But our faithful God never lets us go. Lent is the time to repent and turn back to Him, to be faithful to the covenant God who is always faithful to us. The Gospel Story Anticipated He may not be named, but we can find Jesus on every page of the Book of Exodus. We can find Him in fire. As Moses hears God’s voice in the burning bush, so we see anticipated the fire of the Holy Spirit, the gift of Jesus to His church, who equips and sends for the mission. We can find Him in the lamb. The blood of a slain lamb smeared on the doorposts of the Israelites to free them from the angel of death points us to the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, whose death on the cross sets us free. We can find Him in water and bread. The water of the Red Sea, through which the Israelites escape Pharaoh’s army, points us to the water of baptism in which we are born anew. The manna in the wilderness points us to Jesus, the living bread, who feeds us in the Eucharist. Above all we can find Him in the big-picture sweep of the narrative. Just as the Israelites are saved by God from slavery, so through the whole saving work of Jesus we are ransomed from our slavery to sin and death and set free for eternity. That’s why Exodus is the Lent book par excellence. It points us to the whole saving work of Christ. Has a greater story ever been told? Yes! The story of Jesus Himself. And as we tell the Exodus story, something more of the wonder of that Gospel story is revealed. The Diocesan Lent Course This book will take you through the story of Exodus bit by bit, helping you to understand it in detail. A great way of exploring in more depth some of the big themes of Exodus is through our Diocesan Lent Course. This course can be followed either in parish groups or individually. Go to the Diocesan Website (http://blackburn.anglican.org) and you will find five short videos that I have recorded in different parts of the City of Lancaster and a written resource. The Rt Revd Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn.

God's amazing rescue plan

February 14, 2024 • Mark Ireland • Exodus 1:1–14

Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read Exodus 1:1-14 (use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible). ‘Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph…’ Exodus 1:8 Some years ago I helped lead a trek through the Sinai desert, following in the footsteps of Moses and sleeping under the stars. I have never been so freezing cold in all my life! Each morning as we huddled around the campfire, drinking strong tea and eating bread baked freshly under the embers of the fire, we read together from the book of Exodus and reflected on the perilous journey of the Israelites from slavery to freedom. Often in human history the rise of a new ruler or tyrant has spelt danger for a minority group within a country. The dramatic change from privileged position to persecuted minority is a story that many communities have experienced over the years. Once invited as honoured guests of the Pharaoh, Jacob’s descendants find themselves over time resented and feared (see vv9-10), becoming an easy scapegoat for the ills of society. Joseph’s family had been invited to Egypt after Joseph’s meteoric rise from being a wrongly-convicted prisoner in an Egyptian jail to being prime minister of the whole land at a time of famine and national crisis. With the benefit of hindsight, one could ask whether the way Joseph exercised his authority on behalf of Pharaoh had sown the seeds of future discontent—while his family enjoyed protected status, the Egyptians were forced to become slaves in their own land in order to buy food, as we can read in Genesis 47.20-21. As we begin the Book of Exodus we shall see how God hears the cries of His people as they suffer ill-treatment. We shall be reminded how much human suffering—and plagues in the natural world—come about because of human stubbornness and disregard for the Creator. And we shall see how—not for the first or last time in Scripture—God’s amazing rescue plan begins with the birth of a vulnerable little baby… Let us pray: Lord, we pray for those parts of our world today where fear and mistrust lead to minorities being oppressed. Lord, help us to hear their cries for help, and give us hearts to speak out in Your name. Amen. The Venerable Mark Ireland, Archdeacon of Blackburn

Showing bravery and courage

February 16, 2024 • Fleur Green • Exodus 2:1–10

Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read Exodus 2:1-10 (use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible). ‘When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river.’ Exodus 2:3 What does it mean to be brave or courageous? It may be facing your fear and doing it anyway – but be assured, I will not be adopting a tarantula as a pet any time soon. It may be showing good leadership, particularly in the face of difficulty or challenge. Volodymyr Zelensky could not have predicted the way his presidency of Ukraine would unfold but he has never stepped back from the task of leading his people against the Russian aggression they face. We may also think that those who speak out for the poor and marginalised show bravery in their words and actions. If we think of characters from the Bible who show bravery and courage, the mother of Moses and Pharaoh’s daughter might not be the top of our list. They only play a small part in Moses’ story but without their actions, the events that follow would not be possible. It was Pharaoh himself that decreed that all Hebrew boys be thrown into the Nile out of fear of an eventual uprising against him. At just three months old, Moses’ mother places him in a waterproofed basket in the reeds in the river. What a risk she takes not knowing what will happen. Even though his sister watches on, there is no guarantee that the child will be found and kept safe. Then Pharaoh’s daughter comes to bathe and the basket and baby are found. His sister offers to find a nurse to care for the child and so Moses’ mother is given the opportunity to raise him after all. Bravery shown by a mother to save her child, courage shown by a daughter to defy her father’s decree and protect this innocent boy. This Lent how might we show bravery and courage in living the lives God wants for us? We are given opportunities to be a voice for the voiceless, to help protect and care for God’s people and the world in which we live. We may not be called to lead a nation, but we are called to make a difference in the power of the Holy Spirit and following the example of Jesus. Fleur Green, Vicar of Broughton St John Baptist, St Peter & St Martin's Chapels Fulwood