On The Trail

We don’t have to earn God’s presence. In Christ, it is a gift! When we’re on a healing journey, it is easy to feel dirty and unclean. But Christ has done the work to make us clean so that the Holy Spirit can live within us, so we can have relationship with God. Atonement is core to God’s solution to fixing the sin problem. It addresses the sin problem not by ending immorali

What does it mean to be holy? The healing journey we’ve been on with the people of Israel has been a process of dismantling their old identity and creating a new one.This involves creating a new culture. With a new culture comes a new Law — rituals, protocols, and principles for interacting with the unseen realm, living together, caring for one another, and worshiping God. In t

We have been on a victory journey with the people of Israel, one where they learn to die to their old identity, rise to their new identity, walk with God, and live in community. They’re about to leave their boot camp in the wilderness and head toward the promised land. Alas, something tragic happens before they break camp. It’s not fun to look at the hard things, but in today�

We don’t have to be whole & healed to have intimacy with God.Last week, we looked at the Mountain of God as a model of covenant relationship. This week, we get to watch God provide the next, incredible step toward a lifestyle of intimacy with Him. God is not waiting at the top of the mountain for us to get our act together and come up to Him. He is coming straight into the ce

We’ve made it to camp!During God’s two-year boot camp for the people of Israel, about a year was spent in one location: the Mountain of God. Why the Mountain? It is a place of encounter, where the people of Israel see and experience God. It is a place of relationship, where the people and God enter into a covenant together, like a marriage. It is a place of learning new rhythms

It's time for boot camp. We like acrostics around here, but are you ready to learn a marching song? In this episode, we are on the trail with the people of Israel as God leads them to the Mountain of God. God knows they need to learn to trust Him for their survival, and He has a plan to break down their victim identity and build in them a victorious identity. Like any good boo

Last episode we witnessed the miraculous rescue of the people of Israel at the Red Sea. They're finally free. Now what? In this episode, before walking with the people of Israel into the wilderness, we're pulling together a vision of the journey as a whole. God sees us when we are oppressed and groaning. He knows what has created our victim mindset and understands why we

All is lost if God doesn’t show up. In this episode, we look at the original “Red Sea Moment.” The people of Israel are trapped between a sea and an army. There is no earthly way they will survive, and they know it. Despite their fear and lack of faith, God shows up according to His plan and faithfulness. God does things for us not because we earn or deserve it. What does it

Passover. It stands apart not just as the final sign in Yahweh’s confrontation with His people’s oppressors but also as a theologically significant climactic event that we continue to celebrate today. With this event, the people of Israel prepare to embark on the start of their freedom journey. This is a journey from a slavery identity to a freedom identity. In this episode, we

“But Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2 NASB)Pharaoh asks. Yahweh answers. In this episode, we discuss the “Ten Plagues” narrative, throughout which God reiterates ‘so that they may know I am Yahweh.’ We look at the very intentional structure of the