Unveiled

Exodus 34:29-35 (The Message Bible), “ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two Tablets of The Testimony, he didn’t know that the skin of his face glowed because he had been speaking with God . Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, saw his radiant face, and held back, afraid to get close to him. Moses called out to them. Aaron and the leaders in the community came back and Moses talked with them. Later all the Israelites came up to him and he passed on the commands, everything that God had told him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face, but when he went into the presence of God to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. When he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they would see Moses’ face, its skin glowing, and then he would again put the veil on his face until he went back in to speak with God .”

II Corinthians 3:7-8 (NASB), “ But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?”

Moses had just come from the presence of God. What was the people’s reaction? They couldn’t handle the shine. He had to veil his face. God’s glory was such that there had to be a veil that kept anyone from entering the Holy of Holies. Human hearts couldn’t handle the glory. Our sin was like that veil keeping us from coming into the Throne Room. This didn’t please the Father, so He fixed it.

II Corinthians 3:18 (KJB), “ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Praise God, He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us. At His death, that veil was torn in two. Now nothing separates us from God. We come before him with unveiled faces and unveiled hearts. We have full access to the Father, not even a sheer piece of material in the way. There is nothing between us and Him.

II Corinthians 3:18 (Passion Translation), “We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus, We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

If that doesn’t get you excited, this will- and now we are being transfigured into that very Image of Glory! We are becoming just like Jesus!

Prayer and Relationship

Work at your relationship with God. God can and will answer prayers of the unsaved, just because He loves people and wants to bless. He is sovereign and can bless whoever He wants to, however there is no promise or guarantee that He will. If you want your prayers to be effective, you must be in a relationship with the one who has all the answers. We know that we have to pray according to God’s will and we can never know His will without intimacy with Him.

Acts 19:13-17 (NIV), “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.”

This is a great example of how important it is to not just use the name of Jesus, but know Him as a person. These foolish sons of Sceva had heard of Jesus, but didn’t know Him at all.

In the Passion Translation, this was written in the study notes on these verses in Acts,

“True authority comes from relationship with Jesus Christ, not just using formulas or techniques. Evil spirits know about the depth of our relationship with God.”

Evil spirits know who they have to obey! Make sure you are in a right relationship with Jesus, because that is where our authority comes from. These Jews were using the name of Jesus as a technique, lacking all the power and authority.

What Are You Hungry For?

Our Church does a corporate fast every January. A time of pressing in to the Father, praying, and reading our Bibles. This is a spiritual fast, not a diet. Some opt to skip a meal and spend the time in prayer, others do a “Daniel Fast” eating only fruits and vegetables, quite a few do an “African Fast” where they eat only one small evening meal daily, and others choose to drink fresh fruit juice and veggie soup. A few choose to do a water fast where the only thing that passes their mouths is water. We are encouraged to at least do three days of the water fast. I have tried each of the above types of fasting and usually do a couple over the month of January.

I am now on my second day of a three day water fast. The first day, I literally thought I was starving. I even dreamed of food that night as I slept. When you are trying to fast, or even diet for physical reasons, it seems like every commercial is about food, every pin on your Pinterest page is some new wonderful recipe to try. You get hungry…for anything.

When I am not fasting, I may feel hungry, but not be really sure what I am hungry for. You may find me standing in front of the fridge looking at what is available. Or I might think I am hungry for something sweet, only to be looking for something salty right after I eat that cookie. We have all experienced physical hunger. However, there is another type of hunger. It was placed in each one of us. Sometimes we mistake it for a physical hunger, which probably explains standing in front of the fridge looking for some elusive fix.

Matthew 5:6 (ISV), “”How blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because it is they who will be satisfied!”

This verse makes me ask the question, “Where is my appetite?” Is it for entertainment, for sports, for crafting, for anything to keep me busy, or is an unnatural appetite for food?

Jesus said that His “food” was to do the will of the Father and to finish His work.

What are you hungry for?

Book Review for “Healing the Sick” by T.L. Osborne

What it is about: Healing the Sick has been acclaimed around the world to be a modern-day classic on divine healing. Throughout his ministry, T.L. Osborn has personally witnessed the miraculous healings of multitudes of individuals who have heard and believed on the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.

This is a powerful book, so powerful that thousands of people have been healed just by reading and acting upon the truths in this book!

Now in an expanded and easier-to-read format, this Living Classic will continue to be a miracle blessing to all those who read it. Written in a clear, simple and straight-forward style, Healing the Sick has been and will continue to be one of the Body of Christ’s foremost authoritative teachings on divine healing.

My review: This is a must read for every Christian, especially if they are dealing with illness or sickness. I give it five stars and it has changed the way I look at healing. So thankful for this book. Written in a way that is easy to understand, backed up with scriptures. There is a section in the back with testimonies of healings all over the world and some pictures in the middle of T.L. and his wife. Great read. Don’t rush through it but take your time and let it sink in.

Get it here

Quit You Like Men

I Corinthians 16:13 (DBT), “Be vigilant; stand fast in the faith; quit yourselves like men; be strong.”

Ok, so I am not a guy, but this verse always gives me courage. Most of us can start out strong, standing in faith, and vigilantly protecting our territory, but how do we finish? Do we lose faith, sit down, back down, tuck tail and run, or get lazy and let the enemy run rough shod over us?

Quit like you started, quit like a man. Other versions of this verse says, “be manly”, “be courageous”, “be men”, and “do manfully”.

A Godly man knows who he is and Who’s he is. He keeps the faith, not letting his guard down. He eat, sleeps, and lives, with the battle ever in his mind. A true warrior. He will fight to the death, and if he perchance survives, he comes out stronger with his spirit and morals still intact.

Before we can quit like men, we have to be watchful, see the enemy’s attacks for what they are, stand ready for battle, then finish the job like a man.

Psalm 31:24 (NIV), “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!”

The Same Glory

I Peter 4:14 (NIV), “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

Living for God, from Heaven, in Jesus, may lead to some insults, slander, and hatred. No big deal, not really. Not if you compare it to having His Glory rest on us. Pause and think about that for just one minute.

When Moses went up on the mountain to talk to God face to face, he came down off that mountain with the Glory of God literally shinning all over his face. The people were so freaked out by it they asked him to cover his face.

That Glory.

John 17:20-23 (NIV), “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Jesus glorifies the Father here on earth. God the Father shared His glory with the Son. Before He left, Jesus prayed that we would all be one, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and Body of Christ. In Jesus’ own words, He gave us the same glory the Father had given Him. He gave it to us to bring us into complete unity.

That Glory.

Then the whole world will know that God sent His Son and that we are all loved.