Unveiled!

In my Bible Study this morning, my heart is overflowing with thankfulness and gratitude! I've just begun the week on God's names of Splendor. Oh wow, there are no words. Just glimpses of His glory are incomprehensible to me. But this author is so gifted; she has really opened my eyes and understanding. Here's some of it for you:

"The glory of the Lord is so dazzling-- so pure, radiant, brilliant, powerful, and beautiful-- that sinful human flesh would be consumed and utterly destroyed if exposed to it unprotected...
Moses couldn't see God face-to-face and live. But because of Jesus, we can. Jesus cleanses us from sin so that we can experience God's presence in a way that Moses and Ezekiel could only dream of! With unveiled faces, we can gaze at God's glory. And because of the ongoing presence of His Holy Spirit, we can be transformed into His image 'from one degree of glory to another.'"

I feel like this was written especially for me. I have always read the pages of Moses and Ezekiel's lives with longing and amazement. They really experienced God. Some ways were pretty strange, but it was the raw presence of the Lord Almighty!! It's still a reality check for me when I am reminded of all that Jesus accomplished for us. Just like she wrote in this study, we have the opportunity and priveledge to experience God in a way that our forefathers in the faith could only dream of!!!!!!

My favorite passages in Exodus are 33:17-23, and 34:29-30. God grants Moses' request when he asks to see His glory, so He covers him with His hand until He has passed by and allows him to see His back. Then after Moses received the Ten Commandments and he returns to the people at the bottom of Mount Sinai, his face is so radiant and shining that they are scared to even get near him. Moses then had to cover his face with a veil to hide, in a way, the glory that he had just been exposed to.

In 2 Corinthian 3:18, Paul explains this incredible phenomenon in new terms for us. He writes, "We all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."
I like this version, too: "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord- who is the Spirit- makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image."

I love the fact that we, unlike the prophets and people of the Old Testament, have the Spirit INSIDE of us, not just "upon" us. I have read that in the OT the Spirit mainly came upon people to empower them, not necessarily fulfill them. Well, we get both!

Are you getting this? As I type all these thoughts, it's almost sounding too good to be true. How can God give us so much?! We can see Him, hear Him, feel Him, know Him more than those who were chosen to write the holy scriptures. We are able to reflect His glory, with an unveiled face-- the fullness of His presence indwells our very own self and there is nothing holding us back from displaying His glory and power in our lives!

My only limitation is myself- the part of me that still doubts and still fears. What is yours? Think about it. If all this is true, if the holy, living, magnificent God lives in you, why are you still the same? Why do signs and wonders not follow us who believe? Maybe we're not really believing after all...



I had this beautiful picture in my mind as I was finishing the chapter for today. She says to take a moment and gaze, with your spiritual eyes, at the glory of God. I tried to imagine the visions that others have seen-- like Ezekiel who writes in chapter 1 about the incredible vision of the likeness of God's glory... a great cloud with brilliant colors shining throughout... and me, sitting on the outside of this wonderful sight. Then it opens, and Jesus Christ comes to me, takes me by the hand, and leads me into the glorious and awe-inspiring presence of El Ha-Kavod, God of Glory.

This is a challenge to myself, and to anyone who is willing-- take time, serious time, more than a few minutes, to focus on God's splendor. Ask Him to take you deeper. Ask Him anything! He is not afraid of questions. Begin to seek new revelation and wisdom from His Word. Do more than what you are doing right now. Which may be not doing anything at all except choosing to abide in Him. Whatever it takes, I want to keep going. Every day I want to know God more intimately than the day before. It is a true challenge, but if we would begin to see God as He really is, we would do this and more.

We are unveiled. I am ready to shine!

A Wine Miracle?

Can I be very honest here? I've always thought Jesus' first miracle was sketchy. That's probably my southern roots showing themselves-- we're not so big on the "wine" thing down here. And there's always that ignorant argument about how its ok for us to always be drunk because Jesus was. Seriously, people?

So I'm still reading this book about John, and Beth Moore dives straight into this one because John is the only author who tells this particular story. She makes me laugh when she writes, "I say it's time to take the whole idea of partying back." I agree! But back to the wine issue. There are some incredible symbolic meanings to this miracle. I don't believe at all that Jesus was into people getting trashed. Who knows, maybe the "wine" back then wasn't wine at all, but more like our grape juice. Anyway, that's not the issue here. Let's talk about deeper matters.

God ordained that Christ's first miracle would be filling empty jars.

Beth writes on how God's people were at the time Christ came into our world-- religious, legalistic, empty. We were never meant to be empty! As God's children, we are meant to be full. "An unsatisfied soul is an accident waiting to happen." I've had a glimpse of that in my own life and I am so very thankful that He came to fill us! Through Him, we live abundantly.

Next thing: Jesus made it into NEW wine. Ephesians 5:18 wonderfully describes what newness we are able to experience, and that is the Holy Spirit. This verse implies that the filling of the Holy Spirit does in full measure what we try to accomplish when we desire to be drunk with wine. Woah. I love this quote, "Jesus came to bring the new wine of the Spirit! Something we can drink our fill of without all the negative side effects of wine and the emptiness it leaves behind in the wake of a temporary fix." AMEN!

Have you experienced how amazing the Holy Spirit really is? He's so much more than just your Teacher, or just your Comforter, or just your closest Friend-- He's a party!! I personally have felt His joy many times, which has resulted in uncontrollable laughter and occasional snorting. It's a blast!

Ok, I'll end with this:

"Just think! No matter how much you drink of His Spirit, against such there is no law. Further, the more you drink, the more fully satisfied you are with love, joy, peace, and all sorts of side effects we're so desperate to achieve. To top off the goblet, instead of losing self-control, we gain it! You can't beat a drink like that... how tragic for us to continue with pangs of emptiness. Stop feeling guilty because you crave lots of joy in your life. You were made for joy! You are a jar of clay just waiting to be filled (2 Cor. 4:7)"

I adore her and the way she explains things. Why do we keep searching for happiness in so many ways through so many things? It has already been made available to us! God's Spirit is purposed for so much more than what we allow Him to do or be in us. What if you and I started living in His goodness and not in the pursuit of temporary fixes? Can we do that? Are we as feeble and weak humans able to seek the greatness of God and actually experience His fullness here and now? Or is it just in heaven?

I believe that many of our desires will not be fulfilled until heaven, but not all. No, friends, there is an incredible life waiting for us. I have faith that we will one of these days forsake all things that hold us back from Him. The fullness of Him. I'm tired of just getting "little moments" with God. I want it all! But I'm not sure if I'm willing to give up things like movies, food, relationships... things that easily fill me for a short time. I'm not sure if I'm ready to drop everything that I'm trying to handle and control in my own strength. Are you?

Will I be like John the beloved disciple who forsook ambition for affection? Or like Augustine who wrote, "How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose. You drove them from me, You who are the true, the sovereign Joy. You drove them from me and took their place, You who are sweeter than all pleasure."

I hope I will be. I hope I will not only receive, but abundantly receive from Jesus everything that I need or desire.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

-Beth Moore

Dress for the Wedding!

I'm wondering if any of you think I'm talking about my dress for my wedding? haha, I just realized that it kind of sounds like that! No, I'm not getting married! I wanted to share some notes on Steven Furtick's message, Dress for the Wedding. You can watch it at elevationchurch.org. He's an incredible speaker!!

-The nature of a vision: you must perceive it, not see it.
-God revealed everything to Noah in stages. "His Word is a light unto our path, not a floodlight to show the whole plan." We must take each little step in obedience.
-Lifecycle of a vision: God saw. God said. Noah did.
-In order to do as God says, we must see as God sees!

(Ok, I was trying to write this part word for word because it is so awesome!)

Have you ever been dressed to the T, ready to go somewhere like a wedding, and you realize when you get into the car that you need gas? So you pull into the gas station, you start pumpin' your gas, you're all dressed up, and you look around at what everyone else is wearing. You feel pretty stupid. You feel like you need to explain to everyone around you why you are dressed this way at a gas station, even if no one is asking! The reason you don't fit in is because you aren't dressed for where you are, you're dressed for where you are going. (DANG!)
We need to start "dressing" for where God wants to take us. You don't need to apologize or explain to the people around you why you are so different. You're just at the gas station- you won't be hangin around there for the rest of your life. Once you get where you're going, you'll fit right in!!

-Don't build your life for where you are. Build your life for where God wants to take you.
-You'll be stuck if you don't outfit your ambitions for where God wants you to be.
-Noah was building an ark when no body had EVER seen rain! He wasn't focusing on the now- he had a vision from God. The difference between a day dream and a vision is the audacity to act.

That sermon spoke to me so much! Not that I'm in a dinky, gas station place right now in my life. He just encouraged me to keep looking ahead! I must see as God sees if I want to obey what God says.
I love when he gets really passionate about certain people, and he is very passionate about youth. He goes off on talking to the young people and says to not get frustrated or embarassed when other kids make fun of you for still being a virgin, or for not partying. You are dressed for the wedding- you are dressed for something much greater! You won't be at the gas station, but they'll probably be working there for the rest of their lives!

It's so easy, for me, to get discouraged when all of my friends are away at college. I often run into parents or other people that I haven't seen since high school, and there's always that question: "So what are you doing now? How's school?" And some are not so enthusiastic about my response. They kind of give me the, "Oohhh, really? Well, that's nice," response- which hurts coming from some people.

But I don't have to be intimidated or embarassed about where God has me right now-- I have a calling on my life, and I'm going to change my world for the better. My goal is not pleasing man, for if it were, I would not be living this peculiar life! I definitely would not still be in my hometown. I mean, it IS the beach, but I would much rather be somewhere that people don't know me or my past or my family. That would be easy. That would be much less challenging. But that's not God. God wants to use me, challenge me, test me, bless me, form me, shape me. And I strongly believe that He wants to use my background and the past knowledge of me to tear down misconceptions and to change the lives of those who have known me best and known me the longest. I am not the same person! I know that my career path will disturb some who want to see me be "successful" or "realistic". I love the quote from Mother Theresa: "Do not worry about your career. Concern yourselves with your vocation...and that is to be lovers of Jesus."
I'm on a road that many have gone before me, but few approve of. There is no greater desire in my life than to love my Jesus, my Father, and to be willingly obedient to whatever He tells me to do. That is the career I choose. That is what I'm dressed for. To be the obedient daughter, the apple of His eye, and for Him to be the Love of my life and the only thing I live for.