Walk in Wisdom
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These daily devotionals are written to help you remain rooted and grounded in God's Word each day. We have one devotional for each weekday, and one for the weekend.
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Latest Devotional
Liberty by Submission, pt. 1
Exodus 21:5-6
“But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out for free,’ then
his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master
shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”
Before diving into the details of Exodus 21:5, remember first and foremost that God has revealed
Himself to His people the way a father reveals truth to a child: in stages. Societies have changed,
political systems have adapted, and ideologies about man’s civic duties have altered as well, yet God
remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. Which is precisely why the hermeneutic of progressive
revelation is so foundational here. It means that our Father has been holding our little hands through
every stage of our development, stooping down to meet us at our level, crawling and walking and
running with us at our pace, with incarnational humility too deep to fathom.
So when approaching Exodus 21:5, keep in mind that the running hypothesis of freedom in our modern
Western world has been an ever-adapting one, with the most seismic shifts in our evolving theory taking
place in just the last six hundred years. From John Calvin’s proposition on individual soul liberty, to John
Wycliffe’s translation of the Bible into the language of common men, to Kierkegaard’s philosophic
fragments on individual rather than institutional faith, to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of
Independence, to William Wilberforce’s legislative action to abolish the slave-trade, to Harriet Tubman’s
underground railroad operations, each innovation has further altered our interpretation of what man’s
inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness entail. But the train’s still moving, and
theories are still evolving, and five hundred years from now people might look back on our own society
today the way we look back on the so-called primitive nomads of Exodus 21—as ancient history.
Note this, friend: there’s always been only one way to life, liberty, and happiness, and it’s paradoxically
illustrated through this bondservant analogy: Christ’s word pierces our ears like an awl; the Spirit
masters our thoughts and affections and ambitions; and the Father’s will dictates our every action. That
might sound like slavery on paper. But it’s freedom at its finest in practice.
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Latest Devotional
Liberty by Submission, pt. 1
Exodus 21:5-6
“But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out for free,’ then
his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master
shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”
Before diving into the details of Exodus 21:5, remember first and foremost that God has revealed
Himself to His people the way a father reveals truth to a child: in stages. Societies have changed,
political systems have adapted, and ideologies about man’s civic duties have altered as well, yet God
remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. Which is precisely why the hermeneutic of progressive
revelation is so foundational here. It means that our Father has been holding our little hands through
every stage of our development, stooping down to meet us at our level, crawling and walking and
running with us at our pace, with incarnational humility too deep to fathom.
So when approaching Exodus 21:5, keep in mind that the running hypothesis of freedom in our modern
Western world has been an ever-adapting one, with the most seismic shifts in our evolving theory taking
place in just the last six hundred years. From John Calvin’s proposition on individual soul liberty, to John
Wycliffe’s translation of the Bible into the language of common men, to Kierkegaard’s philosophic
fragments on individual rather than institutional faith, to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of
Independence, to William Wilberforce’s legislative action to abolish the slave-trade, to Harriet Tubman’s
underground railroad operations, each innovation has further altered our interpretation of what man’s
inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness entail. But the train’s still moving, and
theories are still evolving, and five hundred years from now people might look back on our own society
today the way we look back on the so-called primitive nomads of Exodus 21—as ancient history.
Note this, friend: there’s always been only one way to life, liberty, and happiness, and it’s paradoxically
illustrated through this bondservant analogy: Christ’s word pierces our ears like an awl; the Spirit
masters our thoughts and affections and ambitions; and the Father’s will dictates our every action. That
might sound like slavery on paper. But it’s freedom at its finest in practice. -
Sabbath Psalm 39
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A Bit More Context
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Laws on Slavery (An Introduction)
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The Art of Worship
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A Deep Light
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A Word on Honor
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Blessed Rest
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What’s in a Name?
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The Law in Essence
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Further In
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Lead Me to Calvary
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The Gospel Call
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Supreme Court Justice
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An Intervention
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The Tie that Binds
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Coming Around
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Pitching In
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Strong as a Rock
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How Long, O Lord?!
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Treasures in the Dust
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Mark My Word
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Heaven Sent
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In Between
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Meaning, as a Rule
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Fight or Flight
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If the Bones are Good
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Sabbath Psalm 34
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God-Breathed
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A Song is Rising
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A Wake-Up Call
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Genesis, First-Hand
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Do or Die
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Sabbath Psalm 33
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Face Off
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Not on Auto-Pilot
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Oh the Radiance!
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Unbreakable Bonds
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God is Strong—for Starters
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Sabbath Psalm 32
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Indigenous Saints
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A Traveling Band
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A Blood Bath
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Reserved Seating
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Shadow and Substance
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Sabbath Psalm 31
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Another Genesis
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Wonderful News
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Post Traumatic Sacrifice Disorder
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A Great Glimpse
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Some through the Fire
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Sabbath Psalm 30
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Let There be Light
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A Painful Plea
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Sour Words
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From the Mouths of Babies
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Mustard Seeds
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Sabbath Psalm 29
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At the Heart of the Story
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The Hardened Heart Problem—Continued
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Mid-Life Crisis
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The Fuss—no Feast—of Faith
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Defining Lines
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Sabbath Psalm 28
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Absent-Minded Professors
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Temporary Relief
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So Close
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The Emperor’s New Trick
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Another Lying Serpent
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Sabbath Psalm 27
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Roads Not Taken
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Deep, Deep Waters
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Recharge
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Lost in Translation
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Feeling the Weight
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Sabbath Psalm 26
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Today: A New Testament
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Slipping Up
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Beating on an Open Door
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Says Who?
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Growing Pains
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Sabbath Psalm 25
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Holiness Hurts
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Mountain Climbers
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Playing Dumb
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Shepherding Made Easy?
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A Name to Bear
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Sabbath Psalm 24
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The Reluctant Hero
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The Art of Becoming
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Home at Last
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God Only Knows
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Over the Hill
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Sabbath Psalm 23
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Missing Pieces
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Anti-Hero
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Sealed with a Tear
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Like Father Like Daughter
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Motherhood: an Exhibition
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Sabbath Psalm 22