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!