Exo 19:3-6 (NIV) Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Jesus, it is easy for me to get so involved in my everyday living that I fail to be trained in the things of God. If I am learning body, world, and satanic principles that seem to be working for me, I will find it hard to read my Bible, pray, go to church, listen to good Christian music, read good Christian books, and apply all these Biblical principles to my everyday living. Help me allow You to show me the side-effects, the long term damage, and the final results of living by wrong principles so I will commit to the principles of God.

Exo 3:7 (NIV) The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them CRYING OUT because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. Jesus, help me see that not only was God concerned for Israel’s suffering, the people of Israel were concerned about their own suffering. They knew it was only going to be by a supernatural miracle for them to be set free from Egyptian bondage. SO, THEY LOOKED TO GOD! But, NOW they are free. They don’t see their need for God much. Help me not treat God like that.

Isa 29:13 (NIV) The Lord says: “These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men.” Jesus, help me be watching for important signs that this spiritual disease has attacked my life: Show me that when I read my Bible, I will notice that my mind wanders. I will go to church; but, I am there more as a habit, a social activity, or a spiritual duty. I may find a need to mix my Christian music with some from the world. My Christian book reading will likely start falling off.

Jesus, when most of my problems have been solved by God, when I feel things in my life are pretty good, and when I feel I have already learned and grown spiritually, show me that I can find myself losing interest in the things of God. Help me understand that my body, the world, and the devil are like darkness. They will creep into any area where the light isn’t shining. I don’t have to pay a darkness bill. Darkness is free. Teach me that this is the way spiritual darkness is; it comes the moment I lose spiritual momentum. Teach me what it takes to stay committed to God.

Exo 19:4-6 (NIV) “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Jesus, what should I get out of all my past miracles and victories? I ask You to help me realize that if God can do all those things, then living a life with Him in my future is in my best interests. Help keep in mind that I don’t know what I am going to face next; only God does. He alone can make sure I have gone through the necessary life classes and Biblical training to be ready for my next life challenge. Show me that remembering helps me see how important God was in my past. Teach me that, that helps me keep committed to Him in my present and future.

Exo 19:7-8 (NIV) So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD. Jesus, teach me that human commitment is when I promise, assure, and commit myself to God with a human determination in my mind and heart. Show me that it is because I don’t ask God to empower me to make this commitment. I just make up my mind, believe in myself, and feel confident based on my past performances.

Exo 19:20-21 (NIV) The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. Jesus, teach me that at this point, God gave the Children of Israel the Ten Commandments, the laws of Moses, the instructions for constructing the Temple of Meeting, the clothing the Levites were to wear, and the procedures for worshipping and serving God.

Jesus, help me see that the way of life with God was really coming together. The people had committed themselves to God and had promised Him that they would do everything He told them to do. Moses went up on the mountain and got all the instructions for how all the people would be able to get along with each other. He was given instructions for how to structure the procedures for handling any personal problems and any sins against God. But, help me understand that even though it appeared that all was missing was for Moses to go down and get the great things of God started, that wasn’t the case.

Exo 32:1 (NIV) When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Jesus, make it clear to me that this is the power, effectiveness, and results of human commitment. Show me that they can’t resist sin, failure, or temptation because they didn’t pray and ask God to give them His power-commitment. They just made a human commitment.

Exo 32:2 (NIV) Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” Jesus, Aaron was the one person that had been with Moses the whole time. It seems to me that if anyone had the power to make a commitment and stick with it, it should have been him. But, as I can see, Aaron went along with the rebellion of the people and put together an idol for the people to worship, sin with, and be led by.

Jesus, make it clear to me that it doesn’t matter how long I have been a Christian, how many successful years I have lived a Christian life, or how many people I have helped to come to You. If I don’t maintain an INTIMATE, heart felt, sincere involvement with God, I will fail. WHEN I start falling off in my spiritual intake of Bible, prayer, church, Christian music and books, and sharing my life with others, empower me to stop and stay before God until I get back on track. When I lose focus, interest, commitment, desire, and passion, empower me to get it fixed!

Exo 32:4-6 (NIV) He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.