Transformed by His Presence

Church family,

On Sunday I shared the testimony about Moses. He had already seen God’s glory through the burning bush, the plagues, the Red Sea deliverance, the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. He had even seen God miraculously provide for his people with food from heaven (manna and quail)  and still he said to God, “Show me your glory.” This was a man who hungered and thirst for more of God. He wasn’t just content with the bare minimum.

Something dramatic happened to Moses when he was on Mount Sinai with God for 40 days and 40 nights. God not only gave him the law (in the stone tablets), but Moses was changed by spending time with God. Some of the shekinah glory of God rubbed off onto Moses.  In Exodus 34, when Moses came down from the mountain, his face shone because some of God’s glory had rubbed off onto Moses. The people were afraid, they didn’t understand what had happened. In order to help the people, Moses put a veil over his face.

Let me encourage you with a couple of things. First, when a Christ-follower spends time in the Word and allows the Spirit of God (that lives inside believers) to guide him/her in all truth, then we are changed internally. After being changed internally, we behave differently on the outside. The outside change is a result of spending time with God’s Word and God’s Spirit. And just like Moses longed for more of God, we too will long for more of God. We will hunger and thirst for His righteousness. Even though our experience will be different from that of Moses, God’s glory will rub off on each of us too. Remember, we cannot generate this type of glory, but when we hunger and thirst for God, spending time with Him (through His Word), then we can reflect God’s righteousness/glory to those around us. We simply reflect the glory of the Lord as we are transformed into the likeness of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:18).

Second, people around us may not understand why we look different or act differently. Remember the attitudes that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 5:1-12 are radically different from the culture around us. They are counter-cultural. It is ok to be different from the world, as a Christ-follower. In fact, if you fit the same pattern that the world has, you probably haven’t been truly changed by Christ. Believers are designed to be salt and light. Believers are made to preserve/purify and shine to the world around us. We are made to be different. WE are meant to make an impact for Christ. The New Testament speaks of us having “unveiled faces.” Christ and the New Covenant changed everything. Today, we hunger and thirst for Christ because Christ is the righteousness of God. And as we spend time in the presence of Jesus, we are transformed from “one degree of glory to the next.” Let Jesus work in you and through you this week. Let His glory be reflected in your attitudes and actions. Hope to see you Wednesday for supper and our new adult Bible Studies or see you Sunday as we look at the next beatitude, “Blessed are those who are merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Have a Jesus-filled week!

 Pastor Todd