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“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

Exodus 20:2, NASB95

These words, given to the Israelites by God in the wilderness, are a strong reminder of the saving work our Lord does for us. Many of us may respond as the Jews did to Jesus, “We have never been slaves!” The reality is that we are slaves to our desires, the sin that is in our lives. We may not wear physical bonds or be in chains, but all of us struggle with sin. Our Lord came on the Cross to open the gates of the eternal kingdom for us. He took the nails that we would be given entrance through our confession and our penitent hearts. God reveals to us our bondage and offers us a way out. Far too often, we reject it out of our pride. We point to all the good we do and make it all about us, but our faith is not about us doing the work of salvation, but about us following the one who has completed it all for us. Asking God to remake our hearts from the stony hearts that feel we are good, to the soft hearts that reveal to us our neighbor and call us to be a light to others into His peace.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.