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Reformed Devotionals Daily Podcast

Reformed Devotionals Daily Podcast

By: Bringing the timeless truths of Scripture into the everyday lives of believers
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 Bringing the timeless truths of Scripture into the everyday lives of believers. Each day we take the next piece of the Bible and reflect on it together to help you see how Jesus is the hero of every passage of scripture. Each day we also have a spiritual challenge for you to help you grow.

reformeddevotional.substack.comChris Pretorius Christianity Spirituality
Episodes
  • Obedience on the Way

    Obedience on the Way
    Oct 29 2025
    Welcome to the first ever video episode of Reformed Devotionals Daily. I thought we could try this, and so I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you found this. That is partly why this week’s devos were delayed.Today we’re in Exodus chapter 4, and we’re looking at Moses finally taking that step of obedience after everything God has said to him.Let me read the passage. This is Exodus 4:18-31:Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.After all the excuses and hesitation, Moses finally sets out. He goes back to Jethro, asks permission to leave, and begins the journey back to Egypt. It’s a quiet act of obedience, but it’s a huge step of faith.God reassures him along the way. The men who wanted Moses dead are gone. And then there’s this line: “Moses took the staff of God in his hand.” The same stick that had been a shepherd’s tool now carries the authority of heaven. God takes what is ordinary and fills it with His power.Then God tells Moses what’s coming. Pharaoh’s heart will be hard. God is preparing Moses for the opposition ahead. But He also tells him something important about Israel: “Israel is my firstborn son.” That’s covenant language. God isn’t just rescuing slaves. He’s redeeming His own children.Now we come to that difficult moment at the lodging place. The Lord confronts Moses because he hasn’t circumcised his son. It feels sudden, but it makes sense. Circumcision was the sign of belonging to God’s people, and Moses cannot lead Israel while neglecting the very sign of God’s promise in his own family. Zipporah completes the act, and judgment passes. It’s a sobering reminder that obedience matters, especially for those who lead.After this, God brings Aaron to meet Moses. The brothers embrace, share what God has said, and go together to the elders of Israel. Aaron speaks, Moses performs the signs, and the people believe. They hear that God has seen their suffering, that He has visited them, and they worship.It’s a beautiful moment. After centuries of silence, hope begins to rise. God’s promise is moving from words to action.This passage reminds us that obedience often starts quietly. It might be as simple as taking the next faithful step. But when we move in faith, God moves in power. God takes what’s ordinary—like a shepherd’s staff—and uses it for His purposes. And obedience isn’t optional, especially for leaders. You can’t call people to faithfulness if you’re neglecting it yourself.Whatever God is asking you to do today, take that next step. Trust that He can use what’s already in your hand. And remember, He calls you not just as a servant, but as His child—loved and redeemed through Christ.Let’s pray.PrayerFather, thank You for Your patience and for the way You lead us step by step. Teach us to obey even when the path ahead is uncertain. Keep us humble and faithful in the small acts of obedience that prepare us for Your greater purposes. Thank You that You call us not as servants only, but as Your children, loved and redeemed through Christ. In His name we pray, Amen.Thanks for joining me today. I’ll see you next time.Thanks for reading Reformed Devotionals ...
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    7 mins
  • Reluctant to serve God

    Reluctant to serve God
    Oct 26 2025
    Exodus 4:1–17 (ESV)Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—“that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”Moses is still standing before the burning bush, and he is running out of excuses. God has called him, but Moses is afraid. He worries that no one will believe him, that he will not have the words, that he is not the right person for the job.So God does something tender and powerful. He asks, “What is that in your hand?” It is just a shepherd’s staff, an ordinary stick. God tells him to throw it on the ground, and it becomes a snake. Then He tells Moses to pick it up again, and it turns back into a staff. God is showing Moses that He can take the ordinary things of our lives and use them for His glory.Next, God gives two more signs: a hand that turns leprous and is healed again, and water from the Nile that will turn to blood. These are reminders that the God who calls Moses is the Creator Himself, with power over life, health, and nature.But even after all that, Moses still hesitates. “I am not eloquent,” he says. He is looking at himself instead of at God. So God asks a question that cuts to the heart: “Who made man’s mouth?” In other words, “Do you really think I do not know what I am doing?” God promises, “I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say.”Still, Moses says, “Please send someone else.” You can almost feel the fear and self-doubt in his voice. And yet, even in His anger, God is merciful. He gives Moses a helper in his brother Aaron. God meets Moses’ weakness with patience.This is such a picture of how God deals with us. He calls us, knowing our fears and limitations. He doesn’t look for perfect people, only willing ones. And even when we resist, He stays faithful.That shepherd’s staff in Moses’ hand will soon strike the Nile, part the Red Sea, and lead a nation to freedom. But it is never about the staff, or about Moses. It is always about the God who says, “I will be with you.”The same is true for us. Whatever weakness you see in yourself, God can use it. The question is not, “Who am I?” but “Who is with me?” And the answer, in Christ, is always the same: “I am.”PrayerFather, thank You for Your patience with our weakness and fear. Thank You that You use ordinary people and ordinary things to accomplish Your extraordinary plans. Forgive us for the times we have said, “Please send someone else.” Give us faith to obey, even when we feel inadequate. Remind us that Your power is made perfect in weakness, and that Your presence is enough. We praise You for Jesus, who perfectly obeyed Your call and now empowers us to serve You. In His name we pray, Amen. Get full access to Reformed Devotionals Daily at ...
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    6 mins
  • I Am Who I Am

    I Am Who I Am
    Oct 23 2025

    Exodus 3:13–22 (ESV)

    Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us, and now please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

    Moses has just been told that God is sending him to deliver Israel, and his first question is, “Who am I?” Now he asks the next question: “Who are You?”

    It is such an honest moment. Moses knows that when he goes back to the Israelites, they will want to know who this God really is. So he asks for a name, and God gives him one that is unlike any other: “I Am Who I Am.”

    This name, Yahweh, tells us that God simply is. He is not defined by anyone else. He is not changing or dependent. He just is. He is the living, self-existent, eternal God. Everything else in the world depends on Him, but He depends on nothing.

    That might sound abstract, but it is actually very personal. When God says, “I Am,” He is saying, “I am the same yesterday, today, and forever. I am the God who was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I am still with you.” The name “I Am” means He is always present.

    God also gives Moses His covenant promise again. He reminds him that He has seen the suffering of His people and will bring them into the land He swore to give. He tells Moses that Pharaoh will resist, but God Himself will compel him. The outcome is not in doubt. God’s plan will stand.

    This is what Israel needed to hear, and it is what we need to hear too. The God who calls Himself “I Am” is not distant or changing. He is faithful and near. When we doubt, when we wonder if He still cares, He says, “I Am.”

    This name finds its fullest meaning in Jesus. In John’s Gospel, Jesus takes that same name on His own lips. “Before Abraham was, I Am.” He is the same God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush, now come in human flesh to redeem His people. In Him, the eternal “I Am” has come down to dwell among us.

    So when we face fear or uncertainty, we can remember who God is. He is not the “I was,” or the “I might be.” He is the great “I Am,” always present, always faithful, always enough.

    Prayer

    Father, thank You for revealing Yourself as the great “I Am.” Thank You that You are not distant or changing, but faithful and near. When we are afraid or unsure, remind us that You are still the same God who heard the cries of Israel and sent a deliverer. Help us to trust You as the unshakable foundation of our lives. We praise You for Jesus, the eternal “I Am,” who came to save us and who will never leave us. In His name we pray, Amen.



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