Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.
Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.
Exodus 34:29-35
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
On his second visit to God, traveling back up to the top of Mount Sinai, Moses spent an additional forty days and nights as God rewrote His commandments on two new stone tablets.
Why did they need to be redone?
Because as we saw earlier in this book, Moses smashed the first ones after coming down from his first extended time with God (also 40 days and nights) and witnessing the Israelites worshipping a false god in the form of a golden calf.
But that was then and in today’s scripture, we see a completely different scene as Moses descends the mountain and returns to the Israelite camp. For we read where his face, which was filled with anger after his first descent, was now "radiant because he had spoken with the Lord." And although Moses "was not aware" of it, his brother Aaron and the other Israelites quickly noticed it as he approached.
How did they respond to this sight and Moses; illuminated face?
The scriptures tell us that "they were afraid to come near him" but after "Moses called to them", "Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back” so he could speak to them. When they did, Moses told the people of Israel "all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai" and, then after finishing, "put a veil over his face."
From that point on, Israel’s God-appointed leader would wear the veil until he went into the Lord's presence to speak with Him but each time he emerged from a meeting with the Almighty, his face would once again shine radiantly as he conveyed to the people what God commanded. Then once finished, Moses would once again cover his face with the veil until he went to see the Lord again.
Friends, this passage shows us the awesome impact that God has on any believer who would choose to obey, trust, and believe in Him. For truly, when anyone is fully committed to living every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day for the Lord, then they can’t help but reflect His radiance toward others. Consider these words of our Savior Jesus, during His Sermon on the Mount:
"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16
Before we can let our light shine we have to have the Lord’s Light within us and we gain that Light when we place our faith and trust in Him and receive the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. When this happens, when we dedicate ourselves to God and fully invest ourselves in communion with the Spirit, the power of that communion allows divine light to radiate from us to everything around and others can’t help but notice.
Need an example?
Several years ago, I was blessed with the privilege to sing a solo at my church, performing the song, "Your Grace Still Amazes Me’ by Phillips, Craig and Dean. I don’t know if you have ever heard it before but it’s incredible song about the wonder of God’s mercy and love for us, even though we are sinners who fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23). It truly is an amazing grace that should bring us to our knees in a spirit of praise and thanksgiving.
As I sang this song, my soul opened as the Holy Spirit sang through me as He does any time I get a chance to perform. The same thing happens when I sit down with my laptop and compose these daily messages. In both cases, it never ceases to amaze me how many people will tell me how they were incredibly blessed by the sung song or written message from the Word. It’s a powerful testimony to the strength of the Holy Spirit working through us to impact the lives of others when we are fully open to letting Him do so.
Or in other words, when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in carrying out what God calls us to do in obedience, the Lord’s radiance will shine on those you serve and they, in turn, become blessed.
In regard to receiving God’s Light in our lives, there are several other scripture passages we should look at.
In the Psalms, we read where His radiance was received from His instruction. Consider these words from the 19th Psalm:
"The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." Psalm 19:8
When we know and trust in God’s guidance to us, responding to it with willing obedience and producing the righteousness He expects, His radiant commands will then fill our eyes with His holy Light.
The Bible also tells us that we receive radiance when we look to God, similar to what Moses experienced. Look at this from the 34th Psalm:
"I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." Psalm 34:4-5
When we persistently look toward God, we will find ourselves radiant because we are looking into the One who defines radiance. And with the forgiveness and mercy He brings to us through His love, we need not be ashamed for He and He alone is able to cast our sins into the mighty sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:19).
My brothers and sisters, let’s recommit ourselves to be the light of the world, turning to the Lord each and every day while dedicating time to Him in full communion with His Holy Spirit. There, let us seek His commands for our lives so to be able to reflect His awesome, beautiful light onto all that we see. For when Jesus told us to let our light shine, He wasn’t talking about just any light but THE LIGHT that only comes from Him, the One who IS the Light as well as the Truth and the Life (John 14:16).
Today and every day, let’s give thanks to God for His radiance, the radiance that He passed onto His servant leader Moses, the radiance that He passes onto believers like us today so we be empowered to let His Light shine in all that we do in His holy name.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment