The Healing Power of Rest, Sleep, and Sabbath | Episode 8 | ABUNDANT LIVING | with Ted Wilson

What if one of the most powerful remedies for stress, illness, and exhaustion is something freely available to all of us—every single day, and every week?

In this episode of The Abundant Life, we explore the healing power of rest—from deep, restorative sleep each night to the weekly Sabbath rest that God designed for our renewal. Learn how rest affects your brain, immune system, and emotional health, and why trust in God is essential for total well-being.

Discover practical tips to improve your sleep, find balance in a busy world, and experience the ultimate peace that comes only from Jesus, who says, “Come to Me… and I will give you rest.”

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/the-healing-power-of-rest-sleep-and-sabbath-episode-8-abundant-living-with-ted-wilson/

Lesson 1: Oppression: The Background and the Birth of Moses

1.7 Questions

………………………………………………………………….

Introduction: When Blessing Becomes Trial

Why does God allow people to suffer? Why does He sometimes intervene so late—so seemingly too late? And how does it fit into God’s plan that a man marked by violence, anger, and guilt—like Moses—becomes the deliverer? These questions are not only theological challenges but also deeply existential, human tensions.
God doesn’t always act according to our timetable—but He does act. This devotion will take you on a journey through ancient biblical truths and a modern story that makes those same principles tangible.

………………………………………………………………….

Answers to the Questions

Question 1: Why did the Hebrews live in Egypt and suffer for so long?

God permitted the descendants of Jacob to live in Egypt because it was part of a larger salvation plan. Originally they came as guests (cf. Genesis 45–46), provided for and preserved during famine. But over time the political situation changed—the memory of Joseph faded, and guests became slaves.

God had already foretold in Genesis 15:13 that Abraham’s offspring would be oppressed for 400 years in a foreign land. This was not a failure on God’s part but part of a grand timetable—including the “full measure of the iniquity” of the Canaanites, whose land Israel would later inherit (Genesis 15:16).

Why did it last so long?
Each individual suffered only as long as he lived. But the nation learned, across those generations, patience, dependence, hope, faithfulness, and how desperately they needed a deliverer.

This distinction—between individual suffering and collective time—is crucial. It helps us understand that God works both with us as individuals and with us as part of a greater story. In God’s eyes, each human life is precious—but He never loses sight of the overarching plan of redemption.

Question 2: How did God use Moses’ impulsive act?

Moses was forty years old when he killed the Egyptian. From a human standpoint it was a mistake—indeed, a sin: murder. Yet God used that hasty deed to set Moses on the path that would ultimately lead him into the wilderness. There—in secret—he was shaped, humbled, and prepared for his true calling.

Would God’s plan have failed if Moses hadn’t done it? No. God never depends on human failure, but He is never surprised by it. He can incorporate detours—and use them for His purposes.

God does not exploit our sin—but He can transform its consequences into grace, if we open ourselves to Him.

Moses was not used in spite of his past, but through it. His flight marked the beginning of his calling. The wilderness became his seminary. And his failure humbled him enough to become God’s instrument.

………………………………………………………………….

Spiritual Principles

• God’s timing is not our timing—but it is perfect.

• God allows suffering not to break us, but to shape us.

• Hidden years are not wasted years.

• Our guilt can become the starting point of God’s story of grace.

………………………………………………………………….

Application for Daily Life

• If you are suffering: Don’t only ask “Why, God?” but also “What are You teaching me?”

• If you are waiting: Remember that Moses spent forty years in the wilderness before God called him again.

• If you have failed: Your failure is not the end. It can be the beginning of your calling.

• If you grow impatient: Know that God works even in long processes—among nations and in hearts.

………………………………………………………………….

Conclusion

God’s plans span generations, yet He sees your heart today. If you are enduring suffering, don’t forget: God has not forgotten you. And if you look back like Moses on something you regret—hear this: It’s not over yet. Perhaps God is just beginning something new right now.

………………………………………………………………….

Thought of the Day

God is patient—with nations, with life stories, with you.
Don’t confuse God’s silence with His absence.
He may be shaping you—perhaps through what you most want to avoid.

………………………………………………………………….

Illustration: “Waiting Behind Glass”

Jan-David sat motionless in his one-room apartment in Berlin-Neukölln. Rain drummed against the windowpane like a metronome for his inner turmoil. His heart pounded; his hands still shook. On his sweater was a dark stain—dried blood.

He had struck someone.

Not just anyone—an assailant who, on the street, had attacked a refugee youth. Jan had seen it happen, intervened, shouted, shoved, and struck. A reflex. Anger. A kind of justice born raw and explosive.

The boy escaped. The man fell, bleeding from a gash above his eye.

Now? Charges. Police. He faced pretrial detention.

Jan was thirty-two, a social worker at a youth center. Committed. Well-liked. Yet deep down—angry. Always.

He had carried questions for years: Why had his father abandoned them? Why had God taken his mother so early? Why was justice always so slow, so distant?

Now he stood on the brink. Fired. Publicly shamed. Suspended. And inside—empty.

Part 2: The Wilderness

A friend—an ex-colleague—offered him a refuge in southern Germany. A small house at the edge of a forest, far from the city. It was the first time in years Jan had no appointments to keep, no groups to lead, no meetings to attend.

Just trees. Mist. Silence.

There he began to keep a journal—and to pray. At first in fragments. Tentatively. Then more openly, more honestly.

“Why have You brought me here, God? Am I not burned up?”

In an old bookshelf he found a tattered Bible. The cover was torn, but opened—by chance—it lay open to Exodus 2.

“And Moses fled from Pharaoh and lived in the land of Midian.”

He read on of Moses, the prince turned murderer, who fled and spent forty years tending sheep. Forgotten. Lost. And there encountered God—in the burning bush.

Jan closed the Bible.
A thought struck him like an arrow:

“Even if you have failed—God has not written you off.”

Part 3: The Call

Two years later.
Jan lived again in Berlin—but no longer as a social worker. He now served in a “ZwischenRaum” project: a Christian center for men who had fallen through life because of violence or drugs. He was not the leader, not the rescuer—but a listener. A companion.

Once a young man, Bilal, sat before him with folded arms.

“I messed up, okay? I’m done. People like me don’t get a second chance.”

Jan nodded slowly.
“You know who Moses was? A man who killed—and God still used him.”

Bilal looked up, visibly moved for the first time.

“You mean God still sees me?”

Jan smiled.
“Not in spite of it. Because of it. Because you know how dark it can get.”

Epilogue: Afterglow

On a cold autumn morning, Jan sat again by a window. Rain traced lines down the glass.

This time he did not fear the silence.

He thought of his old life—the moment of violence, the loneliness of the wilderness, the still, small voice of God whispering through broken panes.

“I have seen you. I have heard your cry. And I am sending you.”

Not with power. Not with fame. But with wounds that have become bridges.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/lesson-1-oppression-the-background-and-the-birth-of-moses-1-7-questions-exodus-living-faith/

July 5, 2025

DAILY BIBLE READING

Exodus 30 – God Is a God of Order and Intimacy

Holiness, Responsibility, and the Invitation to Maintain God’s Presence

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Bible Text – Exodus 30 (KJV)

1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.

2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.

3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

4 And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.

5 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.

8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.

10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord.

11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.

13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord.

14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the Lord.

15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.

16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.

17 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

18 Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.

19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:

20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord:

21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

22 Moreover the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,

24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:

25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.

26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,

27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,

28 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.

29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.

30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.

32 Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.

33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.

34 And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:

35 And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:

36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

37 And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord.

38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Introduction

In Exodus 30 we find ourselves in the heart of the tabernacle’s description—the holy place where God desires to dwell among His people. But this text is far more than a set of building instructions. It’s a theological mirror that reveals the depths of God’s heart: His holiness, His nearness—and His invitation to fellowship.

Every element carries symbolism: an altar for incense, a bronze basin, the sacred anointing oil, and the special incense blend. Nothing is accidental; everything points beyond itself to a holy God who seeks to meet people—but on His terms.

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Commentary

1.The Altar of Incense (Verse 1–10)

The golden incense altar was small, yet its significance was immense. Morning and evening Aaron was to offer incense—an image of ongoing prayer (cf. Rev. 8:3–4). This was not optional but a daily, deliberate habit before the Lord.
No foreign incense was allowed—a reminder that we must approach God not according to our own tastes but in reverence and purity.

2.The Head Tax (Verse 11–16)

The “atonement offering” of half a shekel was not a charitable donation but an expression of responsibility and belonging. Every person counted, yet no one could buy their way out with extra wealth.
A powerful message: rich and poor stand equal before God—salvation is not a transaction but pure grace.

3.The Bronze Basin (Verse 17–21)

Before a priest served, he had to wash. A clear sign that pure service before God demands inner cleansing. God is holy—and any ministry in His presence requires personal purity.
This points us to spiritual cleansing through God’s Word (cf. John 15:3; Eph. 5:26).

4.The Holy Anointing Oil (Verse 22–33)

This oil was unique—carefully crafted, consecrated exclusively for the tabernacle. It was never to be used for ordinary purposes.
Anointing symbolizes calling and separation. Serving God means belonging wholly to Him, reserved for His service.

5.The Sacred Incense Blend (Verse 34–38)

Likewise, this incense was holy, representing prayer and worship as a pleasing fragrance to God. Private imitation was forbidden.
It’s not about empty ritual but genuine devotion. God desires a pure heart, not religious formality.

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Summary

Exodus 30 vividly portrays God’s holiness alongside His closeness and care. He gives precise instructions for worship—rich in meaning, depth, and consequence. Every detail underscores that God desires fellowship with us—but on holy ground. Prayer, purity, obedience, responsibility: these all belong to a life lived in God’s presence.

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Message for Us Today

We too are called to serve God—not by external rituals, but through a life set apart. God invites you into His holy people, which also means being cleansed, consecrated, and meeting Him daily.

Though we no longer live under the law, its spirit still teaches us:
God is holy.
And He wants to dwell in you.

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Reflection Questions

• What “foreign fragrances” sneak into your life that aren’t pleasing to God?

• Do you pray daily, like the morning and evening incense, or only occasionally?

• Are you willing to be cleansed before you serve?

• Have you grasped that you are holy—set apart for God’s presence?

~~~~~~~~~~

June 28 – July 05, 2025

WEEKLY SPIRIT OF PROPHECY READING

Ellen G. White │ Patriarchs and Prophets – Chapter 14

Destruction of Sodom

Read online here

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Introduction

Sodom was beautiful, wealthy, and cultured—yet it was lost in guilt, sin, and ultimately in God’s judgment.
The story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom is more than a historical event.
It is a warning, an invitation, and a mirror for our own time.
Amid prosperity, pleasure, and religious indifference, we still hear God’s voice today:

“Flee for your life! Don’t look back.” (Genesis 19:17)

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Commentary

1. The Allure of Sodom – Outward Wealth, Inward Decay

Sodom was “like the garden of the Lord” (Genesis 13:10)—fertile, beautiful, and convenient. But:

• Abundance led to pride.

• Idleness corrupted character.

• Wealth fueled selfishness and moral decay.

Sodom was prosperous—but spiritually dead.

2. God’s Warning – Grace Before Judgment

God sent angels to rescue Lot.
Lot was righteous, but hesitant.
His family was attached to comfort and possessions.

God’s grace is real—but it has a window of opportunity.

3. Lot’s Wife – A Heart in Sodom

She was on the path of rescue, but her heart looked back.
One last glance cost her life.

It’s not about where your feet are—but where your heart is.

4. The Consequences of Wrong Choices

Lot’s descendants (the Moabites and Ammonites) became enemies of God.
One wrong step led generations into ruin.

Personal decisions can have consequences that span generations.

5. The Contrast: Abraham and Lot

Abraham lived by faith as a stranger and pilgrim.
Lot sought comfort—and nearly lost everything.

Faith chooses what is eternal, even when it is hard today.

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Summary

The downfall of Sodom is:

• a testimony to God’s patience—but also His justice,

• a mirror of today’s moral condition,

• a call to repentance,

• a reminder: wealth without God is dangerous,

• a warning: do not delay when God calls!

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Message for Us Today

We live in a world like Sodom—marked by prosperity, selfishness, and moral relativism.
God’s grace still calls today—not to condemn, but to save.
Don’t delay when God calls—the time of grace is limited.
Your choices affect your family, your descendants, and your eternity.
Seek the better homeland—the city whose builder and maker is God.

══════════════════════════════════════════════

Reflection Question

Where is my “Sodom”? Where do I choose comfort over obedience?
Do I hesitate like Lot—even though I know God’s voice?
Is my heart more attached to possessions, career, and security—or to God’s will?
Do I live like Abraham—a guest in this world, waiting for the heavenly?

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/05-07-2025-exodus-chapter-30-believe-his-prophets/