Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

1 Corinthians 10:1-4

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

In this passage, Paul was teaching the believers of Corinth the spiritual meaning of Exodus. Verse one says that "For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact..." What is the "fact?" We all know about exodus of Israelites from Egypt, but we may not know the spiritual meaning of the event. God wasn't just trying to get the Israelites to leave Egypt; the spiritual connotation was for them to leave bondage of the world and once again surrender themselves before God and follow His footsteps. May God help each one of us to have the spirit of Exodus, because Egypt represents the world. As we live in the world today, we are often bound by it and we are filled with fear that we may not become successful or even survive unless we follow the trend of the world. This is the most powerful bondage - As we face reality of the circumstance, we are afraid that we might not survive if we follow God's principles, thus we cannot take a bold step forward.

When I was seeking direction towards full-time ministry, I had some deep struggles because I thought it'd be great be work while serving. I wouldn't need to worry about my livelihood, and I could still serve as a layman and be regarded as a brother who loved the Lord. I was attending seminary, and I came across Exodus 8:25-27m, which accounted for how the Israelites wanted to leave Egypt and Moses was pleading Pharaoh to let them go, but Pharaoh would allow it. Pharaoh told Moses that the Israelites could serve God in Egypt instead of going far away, but Moses specifically told Pharaoh that it was God's will for them to leave Egypt and serve Him in the desert. I was suddenly enlightened by the Holy Spirit that it was God's will for me the leave the bondage of the world and to be devoted to Him completely. The scripture passage brought me great relief and led me onto the path of full-time ministry. Does God also want you to leave the bondage of the world, enter the Kingdom of God and live your life according to His will?

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you because you are God and you have led us out of Egypt and into the beautiful land of Canaan, and you never abandon us half-way. May you give us courage so that we can be devoted to following you in every aspect of our lives, so that we may enter into your glorious riches. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!