WORD Wednesday III

Exodus 24

Key Terms

• One voice (v.3) - in unity
• Behold (v.8) - This is..
• Nobles (v.11) - chief men/leaders
• "He laid not his hand" (v.11) - God did not hurt the Israelites (did not lay his strength/power)
• Minister (v.13) - servant/helper

1. After Moses gave the people God's laws, what did they covenant to do? (Exodus 24:3-8)

• The people answered on one accord and said "All the words which the Lord hath said will we do." They also offered burnt offerings, and peace offerings. Moses then re-read the book of the covenants, and the people once more agreed to do and be obedient through a blood covenant.
  

2. According to Exodus 24:9-11, what happened to the 70 elders in Israel because they made this covenant?

• The answer is best described in v. 10 "they saw the God of Israel." God did not lay his hand on them, and instead they ate and drank. At this point in our bible study discussion, Keith envisioned himself sitting at a table in heaven, eating a nice, big, juicy, steak, while God asked him if he needed anything. LOL

3. What has the Lord promised will occur as you make and keep covenants with Him?

• We feel like the best answer for this question lies in Luke 11:28, "But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." We can relate this with what has happened to Moses and the Israelites, "And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai..." Exodus 24:16 How awesome is that?
  
• What a blessing it is to make promises to our Lord and Savior, and keep those promises, not only do we owe it to God, but know in the end the righteous will not be forsaken.
  

To God Be The Glory

Keith went to Germany with his coach and fellow teammates today. So needless to say, I'm bored without my boo. I've been doing what I do best, cleaning, washing clothes, reading, and surfing the net (minus cooking, cooking for 1 is tough!). While surfing I came across this absolutely amazing testimony about a man named Zac Smith. You might need a Kleenex. Take it in, and allow his testimony to bless your life.

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

"Thy Will Be Done"

A friend of mine from Athletes in Action sent me this article the other day. Michael Redd, sharp shooter of the Milwaukee Bucks and 2009 Olympic Gold medalist team, displays firm faith in the midst of adversity. Redd was interviewed immediately after receiving a devastating season ending report. He speaks on how his situation is nothing short of the perfect plan in which God has established in his life.

WORD Wednesday II

Exodus 20 - The Commandments

1. Key Terms -

• Graven (v.4) - carved, chiseled, created
• Iniquity (v. 5) - sin
• Vain (v. 7) - for no worthy purpose, emptiness
• Covet (v. 17) - crave, wish, long for, desire
• Hewn (v. 25) - cut, fitted

2. There are two commandments that tell us what we SHOULD do. The other commandments tell us what NOT to do. We can receive guidance by looking at each of those commandments and writing them as a "thou shalt" phrase, to see ways in which we can keep each commandment. For example, "Thou Shalt Not Kill" to "Thou shalt bring life"

• Keith and I had fun with this one! We will share a few:
• "Thou shalt not steal" - "Thou shalt give!"
• "Thou shalt not bear false witness" - "Thou shalt speak truth"
• "Thou shalt not covet..." - "Thou shalt be joyful for thy neighbor's blessings"
• We loved doing this little exercise. It shows us how liberating the Gospel of Christ really is. It is often said that Christianity is far too strict, and allows for little movement, but with such an exercise we see how much we CAN do.
  

3. Which of the Commandments do you think the world needs to pay more attention to today? Why?

• "Thou shalt not commit adultery" - It seems like nowadays people are not taking the covenant of marriage seriously. Many are allowing their weak flesh to take control of their actions. We have many examples of this at the moment, and chose not to speak of names.. but nonetheless, feel this is a commandment that is taken very lightly in today's society.

4. What did the children of Israel do after hearing and seeing the things in Exodus 20: 18-21? Why do you think some people choose to not get any closer to God or to draw away from Him?

• The children of Israel removed themselves, and stood afar off. They feared the presence of God.
• We had a good discussion in regards to this last question. In our opinion, people fear judgment. People feel conviction. They take offense to these things, and take a step back. People do not want to face the Lord for fear of having done wrong, and are not ready to make the necessary steps to make things right with God.

Please share your answers! We would love to hear your thoughts!

Highlights from Upstairs - Video

This past weekend, we took a 6 and a half hour (round trip) journey to play our competitors at Upstairs Weert. Weert is located at the very bottom of Holland near Belgium. It was a long trip but well worth the win. Check out the highlights.

Action speaks louder...

Yesterday, We had the pleasure of going to the Athletes in Action Holland corporate office. AIA is a global outreach sports ministry whose mission is to build spiritual movements through the platform of sports. Sports can be considered as a universal language spoken around the world, so AIA is utilizing that to spread the good news. It was such a blessing to be in the presence of others who share the same passion and vision. We discussed the importance of service and making the most out of every opportunity given by God. The Lord is aligning the pieces, and we are looking forward to working with Athletes in Action in the future.

WORD Wednesday

It's been difficult to find things to blog about on a consistent basis. One thing that does remain consistent in our lives is scripture reading. We wanted to give you guys a taste of our Bible study here in the Spencer household with our new weekly segment, WORD Wednesday.

We are currently in the process of reading the Bible in chronological order, and are in Exodus at the moment. Our chapter today was Exodus 15. We will place some key terms and questions on the blog in hopes of aiding you in your scripture study!

Exodus 15

1. Key Terms to Understand -

• Murmuring (v.24) - complaining
• Ordinance (v.25) - Law
• Statute (v. 25 & 26) - Commandment/Law
• Proved (v.25) - Tested/established.. we thought either fit well

2. What is your favorite gospel hymn/song? The Israelites were happy and grateful so they sang. Which hymn/song helps you feel closer to God? Why?

• I have a few hymns I really enjoy. I prefer the old school hymns. My favorites include I Need Thee Every Hour and I Know that My Redeemer Lives. These bring me comfort, peace, and joy in knowing the truths in the lyrics.
  
• Keith likes Grateful for the message within it.
  

3. Exodus 15:22-27 Compare what the people did and what Moses did when they realized there was no water. What can we learn from the different ways Moses and the people responded to this?

• The people responded by murmuring/complaining about their situation. Moses went straight to Lord. We learn here that complaining gets no response, and through prayer, Moses was shown his answer.

4. Explain what spiritual meaning the physical experience at Marah could possibly have.

• We went into a good discussion on this one. The Israelites were literally in a bitter situation. Much like ourselves at times. Only was it through prayer that they received an answer for that bitterness. The Lord gave them something sweet (the tree) to make those bitter things sweet. This is much like the atonement of Christ, in that in our lives in this flesh, we are given the Only Begotten Son to forgive us of those bitter things (sin) in life. Now isn't that sweet? lol...
  

This concludes our WORD Wednesday segment for this week. Stay tuned for next week on another chapter in Exodus.

Please share with us your thoughts, answers, other key terms we could have discussed, etc.